Image: Bessent twins, Bill (left) and Bob (far right), with parents, Bert and Elsie. Bill received the Distinguished Flying Medal with the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1944 and Bob was posthumously awarded the Operational Wings of the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1946. August 1943. (SPRA 2005.073.04)
Regimental Number: 2115567
Rank: Private
Branch: Canadian Army Service Corps; Canadian Engineers Motor Transport Company
Herbert was born in Gillingham, England on April 11, 1895. In 1948 he received a commemorative medallion as a reminder of his part in the liberation of Mons in World War I. Herbert was a dispatch rider in the CEMT and entered Mons a few hours after the liberation. Herbert was married to Elsie May Roberts. He died in Grande Prairie in January of 1957. A park in Grande Prairie was named after him in 2014.
Sources: Grande Prairie Legion Album