Eden, Albert

SOLDIER DETAILS:

Eden, Albert N
Private 21st Battalion 210301
April 9, 1917
Lichfield Crater, Thelus, Pas de Calais, France
1911 Census, formerly of Milton

Maple Leaf Legacy Project

Milton Cenotaph R. Laughton	Private Eden's name is listed on the Victoria Park Cenotaph in Milton, Ontario.
Commonwealth War Graves	Private Eden is buried in the small mass grave cemetery of Lichfield Crater (a mine crater) near Neuville St Vaast, France. Panel 1. Col. 2.

Other Links:

	CEFSG Matrix Unit Information - 4th Brigade
	Library and Archives Canada War Diary 4th CMGC
	Nicholson Chapter VIII - Vimy Ridge

SOLDIER SUMMARY:

Private Eden and his brother Harry both served in the Great War. Their father William and mother Sarah were formerly of Milton.

Albert was killed on April 9, 1917 during the famous Canadian battle of Vimy Ridge. The records of his older brother Harry (36 years at enlistment) show he attested to the 98th Bn on January 8, 1916. Both the bothers farmed with father William in Halton.

Private Eden was transferred to the 21st Battalion (2nd Division, 4th Infantry Brigade) in mid October 1916. After taking a "Stokes Gun Course" he was attached to the 4th (Brigade) Trench Mortar Battery. He became ill and was rerouted in January 1917 & February 1917 eventually ending back in the 21st Battalion in March 1917. He was then attached to the 4th (Brigade) Machine Gun Company, who reported him killed in action at Vimy Ridge on April 9, 1917.

The action for the 4th CMGC on that day is reported in the war diary for April 9, 1917 at Les Tilleuls, just west of Thelus. By 8 am the 4th Brigade was half way to the crest of the Ridge. They halted for 90 minutes to allow the machine guns to be brought forward (Nicholson pg. 257). Private Eden went to work! Unfortunately he, and thousands of other Canadian soldiers, did not survive the battle.

Private Eden is one of the many men of the 21st Battalion that has been studied by the 21st Battalion Research Group. You will find that information here:

Private Eden, 21st Battalion

The soldier pages contain information that is available from a number of resources. The following hyperlinks are active where the information is available:

	Soldier Name: Veteran Affairs Canada, Canadian Virtual War Memorial
	Soldier Number: Library and Archives Canada, Attestation Papers
	Cemetery: Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Debt of Honour Register
	Remembrance: Maple Leaf Legacy Project, Remembrance of Canada's War Dead

The summary of the service is taken from the soldier's service records, if they were available from Library and Archives Canada. A complete copy of the service record is available in electronic and paper format in the Alex Cooke Memorial Archives at the Milton Historical Society. Using that summary, combined with the key references, a summary of the events leading up to the death of the soldier has been prepared. The research information available is as noted on the Canadian Expeditionary Force Study Group web site Matrix Project as well as in the Library and Archives Canada On-Line War Diaries.

A summary of all the soldiers is contained on the Web Blog "Great War Soldiers of Milton, Ontario CANADA". Please also be sure to purchase your own copy of "Milton Remembers World War I - The Men and Women We Never Knew" by John Challinor II and Jim Dills, edited by Ken Lamb.

Milton Historical Society

Albert N. Eden