Austin henry beaver
1894-1917
Biography
Austin Henry beaver was born on July 17th 1894 in Alderville, northumberland Ontario. before he enlisted Austin was a larborer .he was also the brother of Laurina Jacobs and was a Methodist. Austin enlisted for the war on march 18th 1916 at age 21 and was cleared for service on the same day. he had no previous military experience, he served in the war for 11 months and 4 days and agreed to serve in the "Canadian overseas expeditionary" for a one year and six month term or for however long the war lasted between great Britain and Germany. Austin was ranked as a 'private' in the 18th Canadian infantry battalion, his regimental number was 195813. Austin was 5 ft and 9 and a half inches tall, he had a darker complexion with brown hair and brown eyes. they identifies him by looking for soars on the back of his neck that were noticeable. Austin Henry beaver was killed in action on February 22 1917, he is buried at the ecoivres military cemetery at the reference of IV.D.24, located in pas de Calais France.
Feeding A Soldier
Feeding a soldier was a hard thing to accomplish for the different countries involved and the soldiers themselves . in the war good food was considered a luxury, they had to find time to eat and depending on their position or rank it was sometimes hard to get food to them. for example eating on the front lines was a difficult task because they always had to be ready and they were pretty far away from where the food k=gets kept so it was almost always easier for you to eat when you were closer to the back and not as close to the action.sometimes to get the food to the soldiers they used dogs with bags tied onto them to get the food transported if it as that urgent and the soldiers desperately needed to eat.
Soldiers on and behind the front lines eat their meals out of a British mess tin
Food containers were used to carry hot foods to soldiers in the trenches.
Troops making there meals in a big trench.
Canadian Infantry
Austin Henry Beaver was part of the the 18th Canadian infantry battalion from the time her served until the time he passed away. He fought in 5 battles throughout his 11 months and 4 days of service. He fought in mount sorrel which went from June 2nd until June 14th 1916, the Somme battle which went from July 1st to Novmeber 18th 1916, the Flers Courcelette which went from September 15 to September 22nd 1916, the Thiepral batlle which went from Septemebr 26th to September 28th 1916, and lastly the Ancre Heights battle whcich went from October 1st to Novemeber 11th 1916. All of these battles were victories for the Canadian infantry battalion. Many responsiblities came with being a Canadian infantry soldier such as them being primary combat fighters, they were responsible for closing and engaging in battles with the enemy, they needed to be able to maintain and operate a wide range of weapons ,and use sophisticated equipment and also engage in unarmed combat which could be hard for all of the soldiers knowing that they were responsible for all of this but they still managed to do it and succed in a number of their battles.
These are letters written by A school student from the soldier to the soldiers sister and to the soldier from the soldiers sister. To listen to each letter press play.