Private Edwin "Ted" Spencer

Edwin “Ted” Spencer was born in London, England on September 7, 1897. He was the son of Edwin John Spencer and Elizabeth Garrett. They had 15 children, though not all of them survived to adulthood. In 1911, 10 children were still living with them. Edwin worked with horses, as an ostler, ostler groom and stableman.

The family immigrated to Paris in 1912, and Ted was employed as a shipper, probably for Penmans Company. The family lived in a house on 2nd King Street, as it was known at the time. It is now 70 Dumfries Street. According to family lore, Ted was quite a runner in his youth partaking in various local amateur events including a few against some stiff competitors. Ted’s brother, Bill, said that Ted once ran (and won) a friendly event against Tom Longboat on a bet. Ted was Baptist, single and 18 years of age when he enlisted with the 125th Battalion in Paris.

He was a member of the 10th 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 transferred to the 4th Battalion in May, 1917. He arrived in the France on June 12, 1917, where he served as a courier, taking messages between the lines, a notoriously insecure, dangerous and vital role. Runners often crossed over open battlefields carrying messages back and forth. On March 2, 1919, he was given two weeks leave in Paris, France, after which he proceeded to England. On April 12, he left for Canada from Southampton and was sent to No. 2 District Depot, Toronto and discharged from H.M.S. on April 24. He returned to Paris after his discharge.

In the 1921 Canadian census, Ted was 24 and employed as a labourer at Penmans where he worked before the war. In November 1922 he married Nellie Whaley, who was also a mill hand in a Penman mill. They purchased a home at 35 Catherine Street in March, 1927. They had two children. Approximately 40 year later, they downsized into a home around the corner, 42 Ball Street which had belonged to his brother, Percy.

In the Second World War, Ted was a member of the Home Guard. The Ministry of National Defense had established a force to be known as the Veteran’s Home Guard for the adequate protection of military property on the home front. Members would free younger men for overseas duty by replacing the Canadian Provost Corps (the military police of the Canadian Army) guarding facilities such as the 40 internment and POW camps operated across Canada during WW2. The battalion was disbanded on March 8, 1945.

Private Edwin Ted Spencer died on August 12, 1978 and is buried in the Paris Cemetery with his wife.