Private Herbert Bradley first enlisted in Victoria, on Vancouver Island, on the 29th of April 1916 when he was just 14 years old.

Born on the 5th of January 1902 in Dover, England, Herbert lied about his age when he attested, claiming to have been born on the 5th of January 1898, which would have made him 18. 

Giving his profession as a waiter, Herbert's height was noted by the medical officer as 5' 5” and he passed the inspection seemingly without issue. The apparent ease with which Herbert was able to enlist was perhaps aided by the fact that both of his parents were staying elsewhere at the time. 

His father, Harold Bradley, had for many years served as a records officer and clerk for the Royal Army Medical Corps in Britain, before emigrating to Canada in 1906. After the outbreak of the First World War, Harold returned to Britain in July 1915 aged 50, re-enlisting with the RAMC and subsequently serving as a Quarter Master Sergeant at their depot in Aldershot. He lost an arm in an accident just under a year later, remaining in hospital in Woking until December 1918. He returned to Canada in February 1919, shortly after his son’s death.

Herbert’s mother Edith, meanwhile, was at a homestead in Calgary at the time of his enlistment, where the family had recently bought a property after initially settling in Vancouver.

Whatever the reason may be, Herbert was able to enlist and embarked for England aboard S.S. Lapland on the 8th of July 1916. He first stepped foot on French soil on the 14th of January 1917.

Having been in France for under two months, he was poisoned by gas during a Canadian raid at Vimy Ridge on the 1st of March 1917. This was a significant operation that went awry when gas released by the Canadians drifted back to their own lines. This, along with the explosion of several of their gas canisters by German shells, resulted in a significant number of their own men being poisoned, including Herbert who was just 15 at the time.

The result of his gas poisoning was pneumonia. Sent to the English town of Seaford to recuperate, Herbert’s symptoms included dizziness, weakness, fatigue, emphysema and indigestion. Medical officers noted that his lungs had been severely damaged as a result of his poisoning.

Following his return to Canada in August 1917 to continue his recovery, the military authorities were made privy to Herbert’s true age and he was subsequently discharged back in Vancouver in October that year.

Unable to fully recover from the illnesses associated with his military service, he died in December 1918 aged only 16.

Today Private Herbert Bradley rests in Vancouver (Mountain View) Cemetery. It is a peaceful and beautiful spot - a far cry from the horrors that he experienced as a child on the front lines.