| Rank | Private |
| Service # | 775572 |
| Unit # | 116th |
| Resident | Chatham |
Regimental number: 775572 (MM). Reference: RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 9 at 350 – 56, Item: 254483, PDF: B9350-SO56. Joined the 126th Batt., transferred to 116 O/S Batt. CEF. Date of Birth 09/11/1897 at Somber, ON. Son of Thomas Henry and Nellie Marie Stokes of Berlin, ON. Brother of Clifford Second Lieut. Essex Regt., 13th Bn. Imperial Arm DOAS 18/02/1917. Lester’s parents would move to Chatham, ON. living at 87 Lacroix St. Chatham, ON. Later living at 159 Lacroix St., Chatham A single student. Attestation: 13/01/1916 at Brampton, ON to 126th Peel Batt. O/S. It was reported that Lester’s mother was living at 351 Wellington St. West, in Chatham 1/08/16 Reported wounded, GSW to left shoulder CDP 24/10/18.
Age: 18 years, 2 Mos., Height: 5’ 7”, Girth: 33”, Complexion: Medium, Eyes: Blue, Hair: Light, Weight: 150#, “Fit” for service.
Embarked aboard the S. S. Empress of Britain 24/08/16 and disembarked at Liverpool, England 24/08/16. Joined the 116th Batt. with arrival in France 11/02/17. He was granted a 14 day leave to England.
Lester was one of the “Military Scouts” a new to the battlefield were the care-takers of territory between opposing lines while serving with the 116th Battalion of the CEF in German occupied France. He saw service at Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, Cambrai. His unit was dubed the dubbed the “Umpty Umps”by the older units. He remembered odd things in a interview with a London News reporter for the 11/11/1987 Remembrance Day article. He recalled the “white Soup” of Vimy from the chalky soil at Vimy Ridge. There was also the harsh cold of a wet trench.
He was a headquarters scout, part of a close-knit group that checked for signs of enemy intrusions and blazed trail through German defenses. It was this work that got him his Military Medal. During the battle of Vimy Ridge, Easter Monday 1917 he directed stretcher-bearers to safety of the Vimy tunnels. “I was lucky at Vimy.”
He and his buddy Ivan Reesorid a splendid job at the Vimy battle In 1918 his buddy was killed, a victim of a German shell that put Lester in hospital for seven months. He had a older brother Clifford who was KIA and received a Military Medal.
Lester was awarded the Military Medal (MM) in the Field 30/10/1
He saw service in France and Belgium with the 16th Batt., CEF. He would be hospitalized 8/05/18 to #51 General Hospital 8/05/18 for treatment of VDG. And discharged 16/05/18. 28/06/18 had Lester admitted to hospital for Influenza to # CCS TO 6 COM. – Estaples and Discharged 10/07/18. His most serious condition was a GSW to his Left Shoulder (shrapnel ) 8/10/18 to No. 56 General Hospital 8/10/18. He was transferred to Basingstoke Hospital and was discharged 23/03/1919. Reported wounded, GSW to left shoulder CDP 24/10/18.
He was reported to the 8th Reserve Batt – Witley 26/03/29. Discharged from service 1/05/19 at Toronto and H.M.S. 14/05/1919
‘Papa’ Stokes as he was known in his later years was the last Great War veteran from Chatham or Kent County when he passed away 1 May, 1995
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| Awards | MM |
| Sources | Chatham Daily Planet (22-04-1918), Legion Magazine - Last Post From the Royal Canadian Legion Publication On-line, Chatham Daily Planet (24-10-1918), Chatham Daily Planet (14-05-1918), Chatham Daily News (16-05-1919), Blenheim Freedom Library, No Return Ticket - Wallaceburg War Casualties - Alan Mann 2002, Date Deceased (07-02-1998), RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 9 at 350 - 56, LAC |
| Height | 5'7" |
| Weight | 150 lbs. lbs |
| Eye Colour | Blue |
| Age | 18 yrs. 2 mths. |
| Complexion | Medium |
| Hair | Light |
| Birthplace | 09/11/1897 at Somber, ON. |
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