Churchill, Alfred Snow

Alfred Snow Churchill was born in Hantsport, Nova Scotia, on 21 February 1895. He was the third of Ezra and Mary Churchill’s five children.

A banker, Churchill joined the 40th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Nova Scotia) in Aldershot, Nova Scotia, on 19 June 1915. On his attestation form, he claimed to have almost two months’ service with the 25th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Nova Scotia Rifles). An examination of the 25th Battalion’s nominal roll indicates that he was not a member of the unit, as it was originally constituted for overseas service. This likely means that Churchill’s brief involvement with the unit was soon after its formation in November 1914 and ended well before the battalion was shipped overseas on 20 May 1915.

Churchill embarked for England with the 40th Battalion on 18 October 1915. The battalion provided reinforcements to the units in the field. Churchill himself was sent to the 25th Battalion in France on 15 April 1916. On 12 July 1916, he was transferred to the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) and promoted to the rank of temporary lieutenant.

On 30 September 1916, Churchill was wounded by shrapnel in the right leg and left arm during the Battle of the Somme. After receiving treatment in hospitals in France and England, and then enjoying convalescent leave, he rejoined the RCR in the field on 11 January 1917.

Churchill commanded the RCR’s B Company during the Battle of Vimy Ridge. At 12:55 a.m. on 9 April 1917, as Churchill and his men prepared for the start of the attack in forward assembly trenches, he reported to the RCR headquarters that all the men in his company were “happy”.

By 7:45 a.m., some two hours after the Canadian Corps had begun its attack on the ridge, Churchill lay wounded on the battlefield. He did not survive his wounds.

Churchill was one of the six officers and 50 men of other ranks serving in the RCR who were killed in action at Vimy Ridge on 9 April 1917. An additional six officers and 159 men of other ranks were wounded, and 65 men were reported missing.

Alfred Snow Churchill is buried in Écoivres Military Cemetery, in France.