Alexander Marsden White enlisted in August 1914 and served as a private with the 5th Battalion. He fought at Ypres and was caught in the first poisonous gas attack on April 22, 1915. He also fought at Amiens, St. Julien and the Battle of Mons.

He was eventually invalided and sent home to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

In June 1917 he married Minnie (nee Mounfied) and they had two kids—Rhoda and Alexander.

White, along with other veterans, formed the first branch of the Great War Veterans Association in Moose Jaw. He also attended the first Dominion Convention, which was held in Winnipeg in 1917. He worked for the local post office and was later appointed to the Returned Soldiers’ Employment Commission, taking care of the needs of the soldiers returning home.

On October 20, 1920, White was appointed postmaster of Craik Post Office in Saskatchewan and served in that capacity for 32 years, retiring in 1952.

In 1922, White organized the Great War Veterans Association, Craik Branch No. 10, which eventually became the Canadian Legion. He was the first secretary and instrumental in the erection of the Cenotaph in Craik in memory of the local boys who did not return.

Born in Glasgow, Scotland on January 10, 1882, he passed away in Craik. on November 14, 1969.

Do you have an ancestor who served in the Great War? Submit their story and it could be included on this Great War Album website.