Soldier Spotlight: Private Gordon Moyer

Image: The Moyer family on their way to the celebrations in honour of Gordon’s crop successes held in Beaverlodge. Gordon is at far right. 1951 (SPRA Fonds 422, 2008.068.07)

Regimental Number: 3210631
Rank: Private
Branch: 1st Depot Battalion, Alberta Regiment

Gordon was born in Breslau, Ontario on September 25, 1894. He came to the Elmworth area in 1915 and filed on NE 15-70-11-W6 and 14-70-11-W6. In September of that year, he and two of his neighbors, Hubert and Harry Black, walked to Grande Prairie to enlist. Harry was accepted, but Hubert was turned down for being too slender and Gordon for having flat feet; this was ironic, as he had just walked forty miles to enlist. He was later drafted in May of 1918, then struck off strength on September 14, 1918. On August 31, 1929, Gordon married Edna Small. He died of a heart attack in Elmworth on May 23, 1953.

Sources: Pioneers of the Peace p. 324, 325; Edson to Grande Prairie Trail p. 187; Beaverlodge to the Rockies p. 330; HT May 28, 1953

Soldier Spotlight highlights veterans from the Archives’ online Soldiers’ Memorial. Each week, our volunteers select a remarkable individual to showcase in this blog series. The Soldiers’ Memorial commemorates more than 1,100 WWI veterans and 2,300 WWII veterans from our region. Three dedicated volunteers have contributed over 1,200 hours to this project by researching and writing biographies. Our goal is to have all South Peace soldiers acknowledged for their service. If you know of someone who lived in the South Peace and should be listed on the Memorial, or would like to get involved by researching a local veteran, please contact the Archives.

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