Buried Alive: Gunner Ignatius Singleton
Ignatius Singleton joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) with his three brothers, Francis, George, and Zeno, in January 1917. The Canadian Militia recruited the four brothers from the Roman Catholic Mission at the Fort William Reserve in Ontario. The brothers hailed from the Ojibway Band on the reserve, established through the Robinson-Superior Treaty in 1850. The four Singleton brothers fought overseas during the First World War. The German Army wounded three brothers in battle, including Ignatius, George, and Zeno, while Francis got through the war “without a scratch.”
At the start of the First World War in August 1914, the Indian Act, which governed Indigenous people, limited their autonomy and restricted their ability to participate in Canadian society. Despite these systemic barriers, over 4,000 Indigenous Canadians answered the call to arms, enlisting in the CEF and serving as infantry, snipers, scouts, and in support roles on various fronts; a small number served as Gunners with the Canadian Artillery, including Ignatius Singleton.
Ignatius Singleton was born in Grand Portage, Minnesota, in the United States, on February 11, 1898. He enlisted at eighteen on January 27, 1917. Ignatius was single, living on the Fort William Reserve, and worked as a teamster (driver) and axman. He was 5 foot 7 1/4 inches tall, with brown eyes and black hair, and listed as fit for service on his military physical. Gunner Ignatius Singleton is in the photo to the right.
Ignatius initially joined the 230th Forestry Battalion, CEF, based out of Ottawa, Ontario, and served with them from January 27 to February 21, 1917. The CEF transferred him to the 15th Canadian Field Ambulance (Queen’s Field Ambulance), part of the Canadian Reserve Artillery (CRA). The unit was under the patronage of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
Gunner Ignatius Singleton, circa 1918, LAC.
Gunner Singleton departed Canada aboard the Saxonia on March 28, 1917, and landed in England on April 7, 1917. The 15th Canadian Field Ambulance arrived with ten officers and 182 other ranks, part of the 5th Canadian Division. They transferred injured Canadian soldiers to hospitals across southern England and moved essential supplies. Ignatius remained in England with the 15th Field Ambulance at Camp Witley for the remainder of 1917. This was a temporary WW1 army camp on Witley Common in Surrey, England, approximately 40 miles southwest of London.
In late December 1917, the CEF transferred Gunner Singleton to the Depot Pool, Canadian Field Artillery (CFA), 5th Division. Ignatius arrived in France on January 18, 1918, and deployed with the 5th Heavy Trench Mortar Battery on February 2, 1918. The 5th Divisional Artillery operated field howitzers and trench mortars. The CFA required Gunners to work the weapon systems and supply them with ammunition. The battery trained him for two weeks and then sent him to the front-line trenches on February 23, 1918.
The trenches, a defining feature of the battlefield in WW1, were a network of fortified ditches that stretched for miles across the Western Front from the North Sea to the Swiss border. These earthen
passageways served as defensive and offensive positions, where soldiers endured relentless artillery bombardments, machine gun fire, and the constant threat of enemy incursions. On February 28, 1918, after six days at the front, during an enemy bombardment of the trenches, Gunner Singleton was buried alive.
Soldiers on both sides suffered on the battlefield, and one of the most terrifying and gruesome fates was being buried alive. One common occurrence was the collapse of trenches due to heavy artillery fire. A direct hit from an enemy shell could send tons of earth and debris crashing down on the soldiers below. Another situation was tunnelling warfare; a cave-in during tunnelling could leave soldiers trapped underground, gasping for air and praying for rescue. The chances of survival for those buried alive were slim, and those rescued often suffered from severe physical injuries, mental trauma, and haunting memories of the ordeal.
Gunner Singleton was one of the lucky ones. His fellow soldiers dug him out of the earth, and he recovered from unconsciousness at a dressing station. His injuries included a “shell concussion,” a “back flesh” injury, and a leg injury. The CEF shipped Gunner Singleton from France to England on March 5, 1918. He first went to the Northampton War Hospital, Duston, a repurposed asylum (Berry Wood Asylum), which saw 25,000 soldiers pass through the facility during the war. On April 9, 1918, the CEF transferred him to the Northampton General Hospital for further treatment.
Unknown Canadian Soldiers at the front in France, circa 1918.
Regarding his injuries, on April 9, 1918, a doctor said: “There is a dark area in the middle of the back where it was hit. Tender to the touch.” Doctors prescribed aspirin for his physical injuries. During WWI, doctors routinely prescribed aspirin to injured Canadian soldiers. It became one of the most prescribed medications during the war. He remained at the Northampton hospitals for ten weeks, until May 17, 1918. It is unknown if enemy artillery fire or an errant shovel blade caused the back injury. Soldiers had to dig Ignatius out of the earth after he was buried alive.
Gunner Singleton recovered from his physical injuries and returned to Camp Witley, UK. Ignatius stayed in England for the remainder of the war, transporting injured Canadian soldiers with the CRA. After the Armistice, he left the UK on December 11, 1918, and returned to Canada in January 1919. In Canada, the 230th Forestry Battalion took him on strength and honourably discharged him one year after he was buried alive on February 28, 1919. He died in London, Ontario, on January 26, 1968.
Gunner Singleton’s story stands as a chilling reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by soldiers who endured trench warfare on the Western Front. Additionally, Gunner Singleton, like thousands of other Indigenous soldiers, made an invaluable contribution to the war effort. They enlisted across Canada, served overseas, fought on the battlefront, and faced enemy artillery bombardments, machine gun fire, small arms fire, exposure to gas, and the threat of being buried alive or killed. Their courage and their wartime experiences helped shape and define Canada.
By Andrew Oakden