Beaule, Adelard

Private Adelard (Edlora) Alfred Clovis Beaule enlisted in February 1916, five weeks before his 16th birthday. He served in France for three months before being discharged as a minor, and he arrived back in Canada in December 1916.

Adelard was the oldest son of Clovis Beaule (Beaulé) and Marie Montgrand Cyr of Redditt, Ontario. He was born on 3 April 1900 in Winnipeg and he had at least five sisters and four brothers. His father Clovis, also known as Peter, was from St. Sauveur, Quebec. Clovis and Marie were married in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), in northwestern Ontario and some of their children were born there. By the time of the 1911 census they had settled in the village of Redditt, about 20 miles north of Kenora.

Adelard enlisted in Kenora on 28 February 1916, signing up with the 94th Overseas Battalion. It was a few weeks before his 16th birthday but he passed himself off as 18 years old. He was 5’3″ and 125 lb. with brown eyes and brown hair, and next of kin was his mother Mary Beaule of Redditt. The 94th was based in Port Arthur and recruited in towns throughout northwestern Ontario. In May the Kenora volunteers were sent to Port Arthur to join the rest of the unit and they left for Quebec two weeks later. They spent a short time at Valcartier before embarking from Halifax on 28 June on the SS Olympic. In England the recruits were absorbed into reserve battalions to be used as reinforcements for other units.

On 13 July Adelard was transferred to the 17th Reserve Battalion and six weeks later he was sent to France, arriving at Le Havre on 25 August. He was expected to join the 43rd Battalion in the field but instead he was sent to the Canadian Base Depot and classified as Temporary Base, due to his age. In early November Adelard became ill, first with a contagious skin condition then with influenza. He spent about two weeks at No. 7 Stationary Hospital and No. 39 General Hospital, both in Le Havre. On 18 November he was transferred to a convalescent depot and five days later he was back in England. He was posted to the 17th Reserve Battalion to await his return to Canada due to being a minor. Adelard embarked on the SS Northland on 18 December and arrived in Halifax eight days later. He was sent to the Quebec City Depot where he was discharged on 7 January 1917. He was still 16 years old.

After his service Adelard settled in Quebec, living at first in St. Sauveur, where his father was born, and later in St. Malo and other places. He worked as a railway man, mechanic and boilermaker. He was married on 12 May 1919 to Emeline Hamel, the daughter of Michel and Emilie Hamel of St. Sauveur. He and his wife had at least eight children: Cecile, Irene, Alpheda, Madeleine, Raymond, Rene, Liliane and Doris. Rene died in 1930 at age six months and he’s buried at Saint-Charles Cemetery in Quebec City

Adelard’s parents and two of his brothers, Elric and Wilfred, stayed in Redditt and they are buried in Redditt Cemetery. His sister Mary Jane also lived in northwestern Ontario and she married war veteran John Patrick Collins.

By Becky Johnson

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