Alfred Blachford
Alfred Blachford was born 26 December 1885 in Browley, Kent, England to Alfred and Amelia Blachford. They had 5 sons and 1 daughter, and all contributed to the war effort either in Canada or with the BEF, including 76-year-old father Alfred, who served as a special constable. In 1913, Alfred married Nora Bibby, and in 1914 they had a son, Wyn Maurice. Alfred’s sister, who watched all 5 of her brothers and her father go to war, also sent her husband. Their young son was named Alfred after her brother and her father.
As a civilian, Alfred was a CPR Policeman in the Havelock area. He enlisted with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry on 26 August 1914 in Ottawa, and went to France with some of the first Battalions.
In the first part of his service, Alfred was attached to Capt. T.M. Papineau as his batman, which was essentially a soldier-servant (generally a desirable position at the time). He was then transferred to GHQ 2nd Echelon and through other HQ positions. In late July 1917 he was transferred back to the PPCLI full time and joined the battalion in the field. On 30 October 1917, the Passchendaele offensive began for the PPCLI, which was detailed in the war diary: The Battalion attacked on the morning of the 30th October going into the line 600 strong including 28 officers. The offensive was completed, and a line established in advance of MEETCHELE. The Battalion came out of the line at midday on the 31st October being relieved and proceeded to POMMERN CASTLE 245 strong.” The exact circumstances of Alfred’s death are not known, and his Circumstances of Casualty form only lists “Killed in Action”. During the offensive, Major TM Papineau, who Alfred had been attached to as batman, was also killed on 30 October 1917.
Alfred Blachford’s name is on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, in Ypres, France, commemorating the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves are unknown. He was 31 years old.
