Private Augustin Charlebois

Private Augustin Charlebois, baptized Aurèle-Augustin, was born in Montréal, Québec, on 14 June 1893, the son of Aurèle Charlebois and Orphélia Bédard. He came from a family of jewellers and lived in the working-class district of Hochelaga, east of downtown Montréal. Before the war, he followed his family’s trade, working as a jeweller.

On 24 May 1915, less than a month before his twenty-second birthday, Charlebois enlisted for overseas service. He joined the 22nd Battalion (Canadian Expeditionary Force), known as the “Van Doos”  the first and only French-speaking infantry battalion raised in the Canadian army during the First World War. The creation of the 22nd offered francophone volunteers the opportunity to serve in their own language at a time when much of the Canadian military structure operated in English.

The 22nd Battalion trained in England before arriving on the Western Front in September 1915. Charlebois joined them at the front lines on 2 November 1915, entering a cycle of trench warfare that would last for years. The battalion saw heavy action at Courcelette in 1916, Vimy Ridge in 1917, and in the final Allied offensives of 1918.

On 17 September 1916, during fighting on the Somme, Charlebois was wounded by a gunshot to the right thigh. He was evacuated and treated in hospital, but recovered quickly and returned to the front on 2 October 1916, less than three weeks later. His service record indicates that he remained with the 22nd through the following years of combat on the Western Front.

In August 1918, the Allied armies launched the Battle of Amiens, which marked the beginning of the “Hundred Days” offensive that would lead to the end of the war. On 15 and 16 August, during the taking of the village of Chilly, near Amiens, Private Charlebois distinguished himself for bravery and leadership under fire. His actions earned him a decoration announced in Routine Orders No. 1899 of the Canadian Corps Headquarters, dated 11 September 1918.

Only two weeks later, during the Battle of Chérisy on 28 August 1918, Charlebois was killed in action. The engagement proved devastating for the 22nd Battalion. In the attack that day, Lieutenant-Colonel Georges Vanier, later Governor General of Canada, was seriously wounded, and the remnants of the 22nd were temporarily placed under the command of the 24th Battalion. When roll was called the next morning, only 39 soldiers of the 22nd answered; total casualties numbered 634 killed, wounded, or missing, including all of the battalion’s officers.

Private Augustin Charlebois’s name is listed among those who fell during that battle. His life and service reflect both the francophone contribution to Canada’s war effort and the profound human cost of the conflict. From Montréal’s east end to the battlefields of France, his story stands among those of thousands of young Canadians whose courage and sacrifice helped shape the nation’s memory of the First World War.

Private Augustin Charlebois’s remains were never found, and his name is commemorated on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France.

Discover similar stories behind the 11,285 names engraved on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial with Living Stories, our interactive app. Scan a name at the monument or search online to explore the personal histories of those who served and sacrificed.

Download the app: vimyfoundation.ca/livingmemorialvivant