McIntosh, Sergeant Oliver James

Service Highlights

Service Number: 830679
Born March 4, 1890 in Motherwell, Ontario.
Son of Robert McIntosh of Science Hill, Ontario.
Attested for service at Winnipeg, Manitoba on March 22, 1916.
Initially served with the 144th Battalion, CEF.
Transferred to the 44th Battalion, CEF (Manitoba Regiment) in France.
Arrived in France in February 1917.
Promoted through the ranks to Acting Sergeant.
Wounded in action multiple times during 1917.
Killed in action October 10, 1917.
Commemorated on the Vimy Memorial, France.
Commemorated through the St. Marys Legion Veterans Banner Program.

A Life and Service Remembered

Oliver James McIntosh was born in Motherwell, Ontario and was part of the strong rural communities that sent many of their young men overseas during the First World War. Before enlisting, he worked as a manager and later travelled to Winnipeg, where he joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force in March 1916.

After training, he sailed overseas and arrived in France in early 1917. He was transferred to the 44th Battalion, a front line infantry unit of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Over the course of that year, McIntosh saw heavy fighting and was wounded on more than one occasion, reflecting the intensity of the battles faced by Canadian troops during this period.

Despite his injuries, he returned to duty and rose to the rank of Acting Sergeant. His service placed him with the battalion during one of the most difficult phases of the war, as Canadian forces fought in the mud and devastation of the Ypres Salient.

On October 10, 1917, during the fighting at Passchendaele, Oliver James McIntosh was killed in action. His loss was felt deeply by his family and community, and like many who fell in that campaign, he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial.