November 11, 2018, will mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War; WWI. I had three great grandfather’s that fought in that war; Francis Johnson Middlebrough (who fought in the Battle of Somme), William Beaton (who I didn’t see action but was stationed in England) and Jesse Oliver (who was an Engineer and did see action in France) All of them heroes but there is someone else that I want to tell you about.
Jesse Vincent was my great grandfather’s nephew and it’s him that I think about every year on Remembrance Day since I learned about him. You might think I’m a few days early but you see he died on November 7th, 2017 and today marks the 100th anniversary of his death.
Jesse was born in 1896 in Brighton, England. The fourth of five children born to William George Day Vincent and Emma Booth. At an early age, Jesse learned what it was like to lose both his parents. His father died when he was only 2 years of age. William’s death certificate states that he died of influenza, but the family story is that he went hunting and when he stopped at a local farm to buy some milk to drink, the milk was contaminated, and it was that which caused him to become ill and die. Jesse’s mother; Emma died six years later at age 35 years from Cancer. So, at 8 years of age, Jesse was parentless.
Now orphaned Jesse and his brothers; William and Thomas were sent to the Brighton and Hove Orphan Boys Home on Lewes Road in Brighton and his sister; Margaret was sent to Warren Farm at Woodingdean just outside Brighton. His sister; Gladys had died two years before her mother.
I don’t know how long exactly Jesse was kept in the orphan home but by the 1911 census he was living with his grandmother; my great grandmother’s Charlotte Vincent. From what I’ve gathered she doted on the boy.
(Charlotte Oliver nee Vincent)
When Jesse Vincent was 17 years old, he and his grandmother Charlotte left England on June 28, 1913, destined for Canada on the Corsican. I have no I idea why they left and how long they intended to stay. But on August 17, 1914, Jesse volunteering to go to war and fight for Canada. He was in the 1st Battalion and later the 9th.
On April 23, 1915, he received a gunshot wound to his thigh and shoulder during the Second Battle of Ypres and he was sent to recover in the hospital. In his WWI file, I found out that he suffered from gas poisoning and this made sense because this was the first battle that the German forces launched a poison gas attack on Canadian forces. He recovered from his wounds and then 10 days after his return to the front he was was wounded again in the thigh.
Jesse Vincent returned to duty again but on May 23, 1916, he had to fall out of marching due to issues with his right foot. He had had a bunion on this foot prior to enlisting but because of ill fitting shoes, he could no longer march for very long in his regulation shoes. The doctor recommended he be fitted with special shoes and this must have happened as he didn’t return to Canada until March 21, 1918. Twenty-two days after his return on April 12, 1918, he had lost function in his right foot.
The Girl
But I have to tell you about the girl. I believe it was during one of the several stays he had in hospital in England, recovering from his wounds that he met Grace Olive Oliver a pretty girl born in Crowborough, Sussex, England. Somehow along the way they had met, fell in love and became engaged.
I’m sure they were planning a wonderful life together and it would be interesting to know if she was to come to Canada or if he’d intended to go home to England. But I guess we will never know because, on November 7, 1918, Jesse Vincent died from the Spanish Flu.
To me, it feels so unfair that he should have gone through so much; losing his parents so early in his life. Fighting in a war for over four years and and to have been wounded and gassed and then to come home and be stricken with the flu and die.
Such a shame that his life was only just beginning and then to die at the age of 22. So that’s why today I honour him and tell his story. Although he has no direct descendants he is not forgotten and his story will live on.
(note: age is incorrect; Jesse Vincent was 22)
Hi there, thank you for writing this. I am working on an Edmonton war history paper and I found Private Jesse’s grave in Edmonton and I became very interested in his story. I found your article here and found it interesting but I am wondering about some of the details that seem a bit off and I am wondering which sources you found them. You state he was born in 1886, however, having died at age 33 in 1918 as it says on his marker, that would make his birthyear in 1885. You say he was 22, when it states he was 33. I am just wondering what your sources are as I am trying to get his story straight and I want to be as accurate as possible for his sake. Thank you.
I have studied Jesse Vincent for about 15 years. You can find his birth registration in England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915. I’m sure I have a copy but was just looking for it. I also have his death certificate. The stone in the cemetery is incorrect. He enlisted when he was 18. I have his war record as well as a complete file about his estate.
Please tell me more about your paper. He is one of my favorite ancestors and I learn something new about him almost every year right around now. So you are right on schedule. lol… Please email me at [email protected] He is very interesting and even left behind a sweetheart and I have a letter between my great-grandmother and the young lady.
You can also find an article about his funeral that states his age in the Edmonton Journal on November 9, 1918.
[…] via Jesse Vincent – A World War I Hero — Hound on the Hunt. […]
How sad for him that his young life was not only cut short, but that he had gone through so much. A very interesting story- and it is so good of you to not allow him to be forgotten. God bless.
Some people unfortunately have a sad life from the beginning. It is nice that you have been informed of it. He definitely should be honored. My father was injured in WWII, and was offered the Purple Heart, but insisted he knew what might happen and he took his chance and would not accept an honor. He was just doing his job. He saw so many that received the Purple Heart that, in his mind, did not deserve it. He was very patriotic and taught my daughters how to fold the flag properly and how to handle the flag. He was a forward observer and when the war ended was in a church steeple in Germany and my husband and I were able to visit that village and walk through the church.
Thanks for telling his story…so many young lives cut short.
My maternal great-grandmother Mabel Shaw (late Cubitt) and great-great-grandfather Albert Shaw also arrived in Canada aboard the Corsican, although in 1911. Great-great-grandfather Shaw is buried at Beechmount Cemetery in Edmonton; he served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in WWI as well, along with his son-in-law William J Cubitt. Remembrance Day is always a special occasion for us.