Todd, Private Frederick James

Service highlights

  • Service number: 727707
  • Rank: Private
  • Born: Downie Township, 25 August 1871
  • Before enlistment: a “traveller” for a labour union
  • Prior militia service: 27th (Lambton) Regiment and 28th Perth Regiment
  • Enlisted: 110th (Perth) Battalion at Stratford, 24 March 1916, age 45
  • Officer training attempt: Wolseley Barracks, spring 1916, did not complete
  • Qualified as a bomber: grenade thrower course at Wolseley Barracks, London, October 1916
  • Transferred: 234th Battalion in Toronto, promoted to sergeant, possibly as a bombing instructor
  • In England: transferred to the 12th Reserve Battalion, 30 April 1917, likely as an instructor
  • Reverted to private: July 1917, to increase chances of going to France
  • Posted to front line unit: 3rd Canadian Infantry Battalion, joined 26 October 1917 during Passchendaele period
  • Gassed: 20 February 1918 near Vimy Ridge, admitted to 2 Field Ambulance, then 6 Casualty Clearing Station and 22 General Hospital at Camiers
  • Returned to duty: rejoined the 3rd Battalion in the trenches near Amiens, 12 August 1918
  • Died: 30 August 1918, badly wounded in the back during the Battle of Arras period, died the same day after evacuation to 3 Field Ambulance
  • Burial: Faubourg-d’Amiens Cemetery
  • Remembered: commemorated on the cenotaph in St. Marys

A Life and Service Remembered

Frederick James Todd was born in Downie Township on 25 August 1871. Long before the war, his work took him from place to place. He was a “traveller” for a labour union, a job that meant constant movement, meeting people, and representing working men wherever he went. He also had years of militia experience, serving with both the 27th (Lambton) Regiment and the 28th Perth Regiment.

When he enlisted in March 1916, he was 45, older than most infantry recruits. Even so, he pushed for more responsibility. He attended officer training at Wolseley Barracks but did not complete the course. He returned to the 110th Battalion as a private, then qualified as a bomber, a role that demanded steady nerves and close work under fire.

His record shows a man repeatedly trying to find the most useful way to serve. He was transferred to the 234th Battalion in Toronto, promoted to sergeant, and may have been used as a bombing instructor. Yet he still wanted the front. He sailed overseas on April 18th 1917 from Halifax to England on SS Scandinavian. In England he was again likely positioned as an instructor, and in July 1917 he chose to give up rank and revert to private in the hope it would get him to France. That decision feels deliberate and personal. He was not chasing stripes. He was trying to get where he felt he was needed.

He joined the 3rd Battalion in October 1917 during the grim weeks around Passchendaele. He survived that period, but in February 1918 he was gassed near Vimy Ridge and sent through the medical chain to hospital at Camiers. Months later he was back in the line near Amiens.

On 30 August 1918, as the battalion was preparing for an attack on German defences near Upton Wood south of Vis-en-Artois, a German barrage came down. Frederick was badly wounded in the back. He was evacuated to 3 Field Ambulance but was so gravely injured that no further attempt was made to move him, and he died later that same day.

He was survived by his wife, Sarah Jane Todd, and five children, all of 27 Norman Street in Stratford. He was also survived by his mother, Sarah Todd of Downie, one brother, and three sisters. Frederick James Todd is commemorated on the cenotaph in St. Marys.

Major battles and operations

  • Passchendaele period with the 3rd Battalion after joining in late October 1917
  • Vimy sector trench service, including gas casualty near Vimy Ridge, 20 February 1918
  • Return to the line near Amiens, 12 August 1918
  • Battle of Arras period, late August 1918
    • Preparations for attack near Upton Wood, south of Vis-en-Artois
    • Wounded by German barrage, 30 August 1918, died the same day

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