Ball, Harvey B

Service highlights

  • Name: Harvey B. Ball
  • Born: May 3, 1896, Chicago, Illinois, United States
  • Enlisted: March 18, 1918, Canadian Army
  • Unit: No. 1 Military District, 1st Depot Battalion, Western Ontario Regiment
  • Died: August 21, 1959
  • Local remembrance: Recognized by Perth Regiment Veterans Branch 236 in St. Marys

A Life and Service Remembered

Harvey B. Ball’s story carries a quiet kind of commitment. Born in Chicago, he later chose to enlist in the Canadian Army in March 1918, when the war’s final year was at its hardest and the need for trained reinforcements was constant.

His service was with the 1st Depot Battalion of the Western Ontario Regiment in No. 1 Military District. Depot battalions were the practical backbone of the effort, taking men in, training them, organizing them, and keeping the reinforcement stream moving when the front demanded more than headlines could ever capture.

Major battles and operations

Harvey Ball’s recorded unit is a depot battalion in Canada, so his story is best understood through what was happening when he enlisted and why reinforcements mattered so much in 1918. The 1st Depot Battalion, Western Ontario Regiment was authorized as a training depot under General Order 57 on April 15, 1918, with headquarters at London, Ontario, and it provided reinforcements onward through reserve channels in England.

Learn More