Private 1010261 - 46th Battalion - WWI
Content and permission to create a web page in honour of Private Beairsto given by Skip Bearisto. Composition by GC Salmers.
The following content was extracted from Skip Beairsto's FaceBook page at: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10155237274762843&id=730782842
12Dec2017
"Not sure when Uncle Willie's WW1 medal (http://www.veterans.gc.ca/…/r…/medals-decorations/details/10) left the family.. but it's back.. William Charles Beairsto, born in Bedeque, PEI, grew up in Freetown, PEI. Moved to Big Muddy, Saskatchewan where he homesteaded for a few years... then enlisted with the 46th Battalion aka The Suicide Battalion. Born in 1890 he was killed September 2, 1918 on the Battle of Drocourt-Quéant Line pushing back the Germans. That day, his battalion had advanced a couple of thousand meters and obtained their objective, once there, he was struck in the leg with a machine gun bullet, and on the way to the First Aid Station was stuck by an enemy shell. Buried in Dury, France. RIP Uncle Willie. We Will Remember Them.
This medal was found on a park bench in Pickering, Ontario... it wound up in the hands of a veteran that believes that medals such as this belong to be in the hands of a family member that values the memory of the deceased veteran. I received a Facebook message out of the blue, the daughter of the veteran that had the medal in his possession, asked if I knew of William Beairsto that served in WW1... and the rest is history.. the medal is home... I couldn't be more proud... RIP Uncle Willie."
Note
Note that Private Beairsto was not in the South Saskatchewan Regiment, rather the 46th Battalion, also from Moose Jaw, and part of the regimental family tree of the South Saskatchewan Regiment, and in turn, the currently active Saskatchewan Dragoons.
Private William Beairsto (sometimes spelled "Baristow"), was born 26 Feb 1890. He homesteaded in Saskatchewan at land location NW34-1-23-W2. This means North West quarter section, section 34, township 1, range 23, West of 2nd Meridian. This is located about 8 kilometers East of Big Beaver, Saskatchewan, on Highway 18, adjacent to a bend in the road. These images are courtesy of Google Maps, as per 2013.
This is how homesteading worked:
His entry appears in the Nominal Roll of the 46th Battalion in the V.D. Currie, VC, Armoury, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. He was wounded and then fatally injured on the same day, in battle, 2 Sep1918. In that entry his burial location is listed as "F427".
In the Canadian Virtual War memorial at http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/254035?William%20Beairsto his age at death is listed as 28, and the cemetery DURY CRUCIFIX CEMETERY ; Pas de Calais, France.
He appears or those connected to him are mentioned in these history books, which can be borrowed by interlibrary loan from your local public library:
His homestead was near the Paisley Brook Post Office.
More about the Morrisons:
GCS/gs 1Apr2018