“Here, sergeant, take this message and carry it across no man’s land,” James Monger was instructed by his superior officer. “If you are caught during your journey, you must swallow the message immediately,” ordered the officer.

So on that day at Vimy Ridge, Monger did what he was told and placed the top secret message into his mouth and crawled across battlefield determined to survive his mission—and he did.

Monger was born July 6, 1890, in Foots Cray England. He was an orphan and was adopted by a large family. In 1905 Monger came to Canada with two of his sisters who came out as indentured servants.

He enlisted on March 15, 1915 from New Westminster, British Columbia and served as a sergeant with the 7th Battalion.

Following the war he married Edith and he became a bread deliverer for the Shaughnessy Hospital in Vancouver. During his rounds sometimes he would take his son Pat along with him. He would tell him about the war, but particularly enjoyed reminiscing about his old wartime pals but did suffer from shell shock.

After the Depression was over, Monger worked as an x-ray technician at the same hospital and he remained at this job until he died in 1947.

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.