SCARR, PTE STANLEY ‘STAN’ Scarr Reg. # 657274
Stanley Scarr was born April 20, 1895 in Fergsuon Twp.), son of James Calvert Scarr and Elizabeth Matilda Robinson. Stan enlisted Dec. 28, 1915.
His address was listed as Boakview and his contact was identified as his mother Mrs. E. Scarr, Boakview. After the war Stan married Katherine Francis. Together they raised a family in Ardbeg,
Stan Scarr
Stan arrived in England on November 11, 1916 on the SS Caronia with the 162nd and was transferred to the 2nd Pioneers.
He landed in France with the 2nd Pioneers on November 29, 1916. On June 4, 1918 he transferred to the 4th Battalion, Canadian Engineers.
On October 5, 1918 he received a shrapnel or gunshot wound to his left arm and was hospitalized.
He embarked for Canada on May 17, 1919. He was discharged May 29, 1919. When he was discharged, Stan was described as a ‘Sapper’ with the 4th Battalion, Canadian Engineers
Stan’s injury would appear to have occurred during what is known as the Battle of Cambrai. The Canadian Encyclopedia provides the following description: The ‘Battle of Cambrai’ military engagement in northern France took place from September 27 to October 11, 1918. It was part of a series of connected battles at the start of the “hundred days” campaign, which began with the Battle of Amiens in August and would lead to the defeat of Germany and the end of the war. The battle was among the Canadian Corps’ most impressive tactical victories of the war, particularly because of the Canadians’ skillful use of military engineers.
Cambrai was not only heavily defended by German forces, it was surrounded by interlocking man-made canals that were naturally difficult for infantry soldiers and tanks – one of the newest battlefield weapons – to cross. The canals were also guarded by enemy machine-gun posts, barbed wire and other defences. To get into Cambrai, Allied forces would need to cross the Canal du Nord to the west of the city, as well as seize the heights of Bourlon Wood, a forested hill that overlooked its banks.
The capture of Canal du Nord is widely considered by historians to be one of the greatest Canadian tactical achievements of the war, overshadowed by the 1917 victory at Vimy Ridge, but no less impressive. It signaled the effectiveness of highly mobile infantry supported by well-coordinated air, artillery and engineering forces — a recipe for success that the Canadian Corps would employ through the rest of the Hundred Days Campaign. The costs, however, were horrendous. More than 13,600 Canadians were killed or wounded during the six-day fight for the canal and the heights around Cambrai — making it one of the bloodiest Canadian operations of the war. More than 30,000 Canadians were killed and wounded overall in the Battle of Cambrai.
Stanley Scarr Sr. Canadian Engineers
