Shannon (CPL/MIFR/FI)

THEY STOOD ON GUARD THREE DAYS FROM PEACE — A CANADIAN SOLDIER WHO NEVER CAME HOME NOVEMBER 8, 1918 Private John Essley Anderson Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Service No. 639343 On November 8, 1918, with the First World War drawing to a close, Private John Essley Anderson was killed in action in France. He was just 23 years old, according to Veterans Affairs Canada. Born in eastern Ontario, Anderson enlisted at Brockville on February 11, 1916, joining the 156th Overseas Battalion before eventually serving with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry on the Western Front. By November 1918, Canadian troops were engaged in the final stages of the Hundred Days Offensive. German forces were retreating, but the fighting remained deadly. Every mile gained could still cost lives. Anderson would not live to see the peace that was so close. Just three days after his death, at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918, the guns fell silent across the Western Front. Today, he rests in Valenciennes (St. Roch) Communal Cemetery in France. His family preserved photographs of his wartime service, including a portrait and an image alongside a fellow soldier. More than a century later, those photographs remind us that behind every name on a memorial was a young man with a life, a family, and a future that never came to pass. Three days from peace. A lifetime lost. We remember Private John Essley Anderson and all those who served but never returned. #TheyStoodOnGuard #LestWeForget #WWI #PPCLI