| Personal Details | |
| Date of Birth | December 26, 1886 |
| Place of Birth | St Agathe, Manitoba |
| Country | Canada |
| Marital Status | Single |
| Next of Kin | Damase Bouchard, father, Aubigny, Manitoba, Canada |
| Trade / Calling | Farmer |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Service Details | |
| Regimental Number | 3347658 |
| Service Record | Link to Service Record |
| Battalion | 18th Reserve Battalion |
| Force | Canadian Expeditionary Force |
| Branch | Canadian Infantry |
| Enlisted / Conscripted | Conscripted |
| Address at Enlistment | Vassar, Manitoba |
| Date of Enlistment | June 18, 1918 |
| Age at Enlistment | 31 |
| Theatre of Service | Great Britain |
| Prisoner of War | No |
| Survived War | Yes |
| Death Details | |
| Date of Death | April 8, 1973 |
| Age at Death | 86 |
| Buried At | Lake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario |
| Plot | RC B - 4-12 |
Bouchard, Louis
Joseph Louis Bouchard was born on 26 December 1886 near St Adolphe in the RM of Morris in southern Manitoba where his family farmed. His parents, francophones from Quebec, were Damase Bouchard and Elisa Hebert. The couple had married in 1872 in the cotton milling/textile industry town of Nashua, Hillsborough, New Hampshire where Damase was working as a miller and Elisa as a weaver. Three children were born to the family while in New Hampshire: Damase George (1872), Leon (abt 1875), and Charles Henry (1876). By the late 1870’s the family had relocated to Manitoba where more children joined the family: Mary (1879), Pierre (1881), Albina (1883), Albert (1885), Louis, Marie Angelina (1891), Ida Alexina (1894), and Adrien (1897). By the 1911 Canada census Louis, listed as a lodger, was working as a teamster in St Boniface, Manitoba. By the 1916 census he was farming in the RM of Sprague in southeastern Manitoba near the town of Vassar.
With occupation given as farmer and his father Damase in the village of Aubigny in Morris, Manitoba as next of kin, Louis signed his recruitment papers in Winnipeg on 18 June 1918. His address was given as Vassar Post Office. With a draft of the 1st Depot Battalion Manitoba Regiment he embarked from Canada aboard the SS Nellore on 4 August 1918.
Upon his arrival in England Louis was taken on strength with the 11th Reserve Battalion and the following January he was transferred to the 18th Reserve Battalion. With the end of the war, Louis returned to Canada aboard the Aquitania, disembarking in Halifax on 20 June 1919.
Upon discharge Louis returned to Vassar but later moved to Kenora, Ontario in 1930. In 1932, in Kenora, he married Mary Rose Gagne. Born in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), Mary was the daughter of Israel Gagne and Anna Degagne. Her parents had moved from Quebec to the area where Israel found work in the local gold mines. Louis and Mary had two children, daughter Gratia and son Camille. Louis was a member of the Kenora Branch of the Canadian Legion.
Predeceased by his wife Mary in 1957 Louis died in the Pinecrest Home for the Aged in Kenora on 8 April 1973. At the time he was survived by his son Camille of Winnipeg. Along with Mary, Louis is interred in the Lake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora.
Louis’ brother Adrien signed recruitment papers in Winnipeg with the 1st Depot Battalion Manitoba Regiment on 31 July 1918. Given a leave to return home for harvesting, by the time he returned the war was drawing to a close and he was discharged from service.
by Judy Stockham
