A commemorative plaque carved by a member of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry during World War I. The wood was salvaged from the ruins of Ypres. It was purchased for $4 by Jacques Arsenault and still hangs in his son’s house.
Less than two months after the start of the First World War, Jacques Arsenault signed up to fight. A Quebec native, he was working to build a railroad in Manitoba at the time.
He eventually ended up with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. He was wounded on June 2, 1916, at Sanctuary Wood. After recovering in England, he returned to the front.
The only French-speaking member of his unit, he served as its interpreter at times. He was also very physically fit, and was ultimately assigned to load and fire a large artillery piece by himself.
Mr. Arsenault didn't speak much about his time at war, but his family recounts a few anecdotes: on one occasion, a new recruit woke up after a night of intense shelling to find that half his hair had gone white; another time, his unit ran out of bullets and had to fight for over 12 hours with nothing but bayonets and their bare hands. Mr. Arsenault also told a story about serving with two identical twins, one of whom was killed shortly before 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918, when he stuck his head out of the trench.
He served until June, 1919, returning from Europe with a unique memento: a commemorative plaque, carved by a soldier in his unit out of wood salvaged from the ruins of Ypres. Mr. Arsenault had paid $4 for it.
Shortly after, he married Lucie Maltais, eventually settling in Smooth Rock Falls, Ont., and having eight children. Mr. Arsenault died of lung cancer on Aug. 27, 1967.
The plaque, which bears the PPCLI crest surrounded by the names of battles in which the regiment took part during the war, still hangs in the hallway of Mr. Arsenault's son in Smooth Rock Falls.
The family is hoping to donate it to a museum that will put it on display.
Adrian Morrow