Foster, Private Percy Alfred

Service Highlights

  • Service Number: 802571
  • Born June 13, 1897 in Blanchard Township, Ontario.
  • Son of John Thomas Foster and Agnes Jane Foster of R.R. #1, Granton, Ontario.
  • Enlisted at Granton, Ontario on December 24, 1915.
  • Enlisted with the 135th Overseas Battalion, CEF, later transferred to 125th Battalion
  • Sailed overseas on October 30, 1916 aboard SS Olympic.
  • Served in France with the 4th Battalion, CEF.
  • Suffered gas poisoning in 1917.
  • Wounded October 1, 1918 with a gunshot wound and shrapnel wounds to the left forearm.
  • Discharged on March 18, 1919 on demobilization.
  • Died January 17, 1964 at Westminster Hospital, London, Ontario.
  • Commemorated through the St. Marys Legion Veterans Banner Program.

A Life and Service Remembered

Percy Alfred Foster was born in Blanchard Township in 1897 and raised in the Granton area. Like many young men from rural Ontario, he was working as a farmer when he enlisted for service in December 1915. He joined the 135th Overseas Battalion. On October 30th 1916, he sailed for England aboard the SS Olympic, one of the large troopships used to carry Canadian soldiers overseas.

Foster was transferred to the 125th Battalion, and eventually sent to France, where he served with the 4th Battalion, one of the front line infantry units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. His time at the front placed him directly in the major battles fought by the Canadian Corps during the latter half of the war.

His service record reflects the harsh realities of trench warfare. In 1917, he suffered the effects of gas exposure. Later, on October 1, 1918, during the final months of the war, he was wounded in action. The record describes a gunshot wound to the upper third of his left forearm, a severe flesh wound that became septic, along with a shrapnel wound to the lower arm. Despite the severity, he recovered well, and small fragments of shrapnel were later removed in London, Ontario in 1919.

After the war, Foster returned to Ontario and was discharged in March 1919. His experience reflects that of many Canadian soldiers who endured the full weight of the Western Front and carried those experiences home with them.

Major Battles and Operations

  • Service with the 4th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force on the Western Front
  • Battle of the Somme, 1916
  • Battle of Vimy Ridge, 1917
  • Battle of Hill 70, 1917
  • Battle of Passchendaele, 1917
  • Battle of Amiens, 1918
  • Arras and the Drocourt–Quéant Line, 1918
  • Canal du Nord and Cambrai, 1918
  • Final Hundred Days offensives, where he was wounded in October 1918

Learn More

Percy Alfred Foster – Canadian Great War Project
https://canadiangreatwarproject.com/person.php?pid=977479