Henry Alexander Doyne Pigott

Military Medal, Victory Medal, British War Medal

18th Mounted Rifles – Active Militia

Canadian Army, Canadian Machine Gun Corps

WW I

Henry Alexander Doyne Pigott was born to Augustus Charles Doyne and Florence Harriet (Buchanan) Pigott 25 June 1897 in Morden, Manitoba. He spent his childhood in Morden. At the time of his enlistment his Attestation Papers indicated that he was a student at St. Johns College in Winnipeg and a member of the 18th Mounted Rifles of the Active Militia. At the ripe old age of 18 he enlisted in the Army and through the selection process, was assigned to the Canadian Machine Gun Corps.

Private Pigott and his crew were killed 14 November 1917 by a direct artillery hit on the gun and crew position, of which he was in charge, during operations west of Passchendaele.

The following article was taken from the local paper; “Major and Mrs. A. C. D. Pigott of Morden, Manitoba have received the Military Medal, won by their son Pte. Henry Doyne Pigott. The same was accompanied by the following letter from Major W. C. Pearce, O.C. (Officer Commanding) of the 12th Machine Gun Company: “Your son Pte. Henty Doyne Pigott, was awarded the Military Medal for work he did on his gun crew at Passchendaele about two weeks before his death. In that action your son conducted himself in such a manner that his actions were a fine example to the rest of his gun crew and he kept his gun in action under remarkably heavy shell fire. He unfortunately never knew his actions had gained for him the decoration as it was published sometime after his death. He was very much missed by his section and the officers and his courage was several times brought to my notice by his section officer”.

Private H. A. D. Pigott is commemorated on:

Panel 32 of The Menin Gate Memorial which is situated at the eastern side of the town of Ypres in the Province of West Flanders, Belgium. It bears the names of 55,000 men who were lost without trace during the defence of the Ypres Salient in the First World War,

Page 309 of the First World War Book of Remembrance, located in the Memorial Chamber of The Peace Tower of the Canadian Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, Ontario.

The Morden Stanley War Memorial, located at the corner of Stephen and 9th Streets in Morden, Manitoba.

Information from Library and Archives Canada.