Lance Corporal Alfred August Allworth
When Alfred enlisted in Paris with the 125th Battalion, he was 30 years of age and working as a chemist. He was born on September 11, 1885. He stated on his attestation paper that he was born in Paris, but he seems to have had a connection to the United States. His mother, Fanny Allworth, was living in Crawford, Washington and he had served four years with the US Marine Corps before the war. He identified himself as a member of the Church of England, but he was commemorated at the Paris Congregational Church.
Alfred was a member of the 9th Platoon that embarked aboard the S.S Scandinavia on February 12, 1916. The 9th and 10th Platoons were the first contingent of soldiers from Paris, nearly 100 men, to go overseas. He was appointed corporal on August 6, 1916 after arriving at Bramshott in England. He was transferred to the 4th Battalion on arrival in England and on May 24, 1917, proceeded to France.
On May 3, 1918, Alfred was attached to the Special Military Service Corps, which was created by the Military Service Act, passed in Parliament in August, 1917, which introduced conscription to Canada. Due to a massive drop in voluntary enlistments and the devastating casualties at battles like Vimy Ridge, Prime Minister Robert Borden realized conscription was the only way to sustain the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the field. Once conscripted and trained in Canada or England, "MSA men" were sent to reinforcement pools before reaching the front lines. In the next step, Canadian Corps Reinforcement Camps (CCRC) were located much closer to the front (such as the one at Aubin St. Vaast, about an hour from Arras). The CCRC held roughly 100 reinforcements per infantry battalion to immediately replace casualties. The Canadian 2nd Echelon (the administrative branch) monitored daily casualty reports and weekly field returns to pull men from the reinforcement pool and assign them to depleted regiments in the field.
Of the roughly 100,000 men called up under the MSA, only about 24,100 made it to the Western Front before the Armistice. Despite the political division conscription caused in Canada, these "MSA men" provided crucial manpower during the final, victorious "Hundred Days" campaign in 1918.
Alfred seems to have been attached to a CCRC in France when he contracted meningitis on June 16, 1918. He left the CCRC on June 17 and was removed from service due to his debility on August 4, 1918. He proceeded to Canada on May 15, 1919. Corporal Alfred Allworth was discharged in Toronto on May 27, 1919.