Corporal Wilfrid Gagné

Baptized Joseph-Honoré-Wilfrid Gagné. Son of Alfred Gagné and Mathilda Guérard (deceased in 1903), of Montréal, Québec. He stated being born in 1892 when he enlisted and named his sister Alphonsine (wife of David Maranda) as next of kin.

Enlisted in the 57th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, he transferred to the 41st Battalion and left for Great Britain on October 16, 1915. He arrived in Plymouth, England, on the 28th. On March 29, 1916, he was incorporated into the 23rd Reserve Battalion and on April 15 into the 22nd Battalion. On the 16th, he left for France and landed in Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais, the same day. On May 6, he rejoined his unit on the front line.

He was seriously wounded to a leg on 14 June 1916 in Mont Sorrel, Belgium; he spent almost one year in England to recover.

Released from medical care on May 17, 1917, he returned to the 22nd Battalion and on the 18th he returned to France. From January 26 to February 13, 1918, he served as an instructor at the Canadian Corps Reinforcement Camp. On August 27, 1918, at around 4:30 a.m., the 22nd Battalion reached the assembly point for an attack. Three minutes later, it jumped the parapet and was greeted by intense artillery and musket fire. For two long hours, it slowly advanced toward the German positions. At the enemy trenches, it was hand-to-hand combat with bayonets. He was killed in action on August 27, 1918, during the Battle of Chérisy, Pas-de-Calais.