Eby, Elgin Earl

Elgin Earl Eby was born in Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario, on 18 November 1895. The son of Dilman and Katherine Eby, he lost his father before the age of five.

A moulder, Eby enlisted in the 71st Canadian Infantry Battalion on 23 September 1915 in Woodstock, Ontario. After initial training in Canada, the battalion left for England on SS Olympic, embarking in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 1 April 1916. Arriving in Liverpool on 11 April 1916, the battalion moved to Oxney Camp, Hampshire. While there, Eby was transferred to the 11th Canadian Infantry Brigade’s Machine Gun Company and then to the 75th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Mississauga).

Eby was shipped to France with the 75th Battalion on 11 August 1916. He suffered burns to his hands and face on 14 October 1916 as the result of an accident and had to be hospitalized. He rejoined the 75th Battalion in November. Soon after, he was charged with negligently wounding himself. It is unclear if this charge was related to the accident that occurred in October. Eby was found guilty on 1 January 1917 and sentenced to three months of field punishment No. 1.

Eby was killed in action in the vicinity of Sancourt (north of Cambrai) on 30 September 1918, as the 11th Brigade, of which the 75th Battalion was a part, attempted to capture canal crossings in Eswars during the Canadians’ attack on Cambrai. Brigadier Victor Oldum, commander of the 11th Brigade, described its actions as “the hardest … in which the brigade was ever engaged.” Based on “false assumptions” about enemy morale and lacking sufficient artillery support, the operation failed and resulted in heavy casualties.

Elgin Earl Eby is buried in Cantimpre Canadian Cemetery (formerly known as Marcoing Line British Cemetery), Sailly, France.