Joseph Kaeble

Joseph Thomas Keable, VC, MM (5 May 1892 – 9 June 1918) was a Canadian soldier during the First World War. Keable was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.[1][2] He was the first French Canadian soldier to be decorated with the VC and Military Medal.

Joseph-Thomas Keable

VC, MM
Born(1892-05-05)5 May 1892
Saint-Moïse, Quebec
Died9 June 1918(1918-06-09) (aged 26)
Neuville-Vitasse, France
Buried
Wanquetin Communal Cemetery Extension, France
AllegianceCanada
Service/branchCanadian Expeditionary Force
Years of service1916–1918
RankCorporal
Unit22nd Battalion (French Canadian), CEF
Battles/warsWorld War I †
Awards
Bust of Joseph Keable, Valiants Memorial, Ottawa
Joseph Keable's Canadian Expeditionary Force Enlistment Document dated 20 March 1916

Mostly wrongly spelled Kaeble in English, his actual name at baptism was Keable. His name is also oddly spelled Kable in a page of the 1911 Census of Canada

Biography

He was born on 5 May 1892 in Saint-Moïse, Quebec.[3][4] He joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force in March 1916. Kaeble was a corporal in the 22e Battalion (Canadien Francais), CEF. On 8 June 1918 at Neuville-Vitasse, France, Kaeble performed an act of bravery for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. He died whilst doing so.

Citation

For most conspicuous bravery and extraordinary devotion to duty when in charge of a Lewis gun section in the front line trenches, in which a strong enemy raid was attempted. During an intense bombardment Corporal Kaeble remained at the parapet with his Lewis gun shouldered ready for action, the field of fire being very short. As soon as the barrage lifted from the front line, about fifty of the enemy advanced towards his post. By this time the whole of his section except one had become casualties. Corporal Kaeble jumped over the parapet, and holding his Lewis gun at the hip, emptied one magazine after another into the advancing enemy, and although wounded several times by fragments of shells and bombs, he continued to fire and entirely blocked the enemy by his determined stand. Finally, firing all the time, he fell backwards into the trench mortally wounded. While lying on his back in the trench he fired his last cartridges over the parapet at the retreating Germans, and before losing consciousness shouted to the wounded about him: "Keep it up, boys; do not let them get through! We must stop them !" The complete repulse of the enemy attack at this point was due to the remarkable personal bravery and self-sacrifice of this gallant non-commissioned officer, who died of his wounds shortly afterwards.

— London Gazette, Supplement No. 30903, dated 16 September 1918[5]

Burial and legacy
Keable's CWGC gravestone

He was buried in the local cemetery in Wanquetin, some seven miles west of Arras (Wanquetin Communal Cemetery: Plot II. Row A. Grave 8. Headstone).

At CFB Valcartier, honours to Keable include Mount Keable, just east of Camp Vimy; a street on the base; and the Keable Club, the privates' and corporals' mess.[6]

On 10 February 2011, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced that the nine new vessels in a new class of midshore patrol vessels would be named the Hero-class patrol vessels.[7][8][9] The second of the new vessels was named CCGS Caporal Keable V.C., and was presented to the Coast Guard on 13 November 2012.[10][11]

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References
  1. Frances Willick (13 November 2012). "New Coast Guard patrol vessel honours hero: VC winner Kaeble remembered November 13, 2012 – 8:12pm By FRANCES WILLICK Staff Reporter". Halifax Chronicle Herald. Halifax, Nova Scotia. Archived from the original on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012. A newspaper account published in 1918 described his actions: "Cpl. Kaeble jumped over the parapet, and holding his Lewis gun at the hip, emptied one magazine after another into the advancing enemy, and although wounded several times by fragments of shells and bombs, he continued to fire and entirely blocked the enemy by his determined stand."
  2. "Government to consider arming coast guard vessels: Defence Minister Peter MacKay makes revelation in Halifax". CBC News. 13 November 2012. Archived from the original on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012. The Caporal Kaeble V.C. Hero-class vessel was named after Joseph Kaeble, a First World War soldier who earned a posthumous Victoria Cross for stopping a German attack.
  3. "Ministers present new Coast Guard ship named for fallen hero". Metronews. 13 November 2012. Archived from the original on 18 November 2012. Canada’s defence and fisheries ministers were on hand Tuesday to present a new Coast Guard ship named for the first French-Canadian to receive the Victoria Cross.
  4. Barbara Mottram (13 November 2012). "Ministers Shea And Mackay Present the CCGS Caporal Kaeble V.C." Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Archived from the original on 18 November 2012. The Honourable Gail Shea, acting Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Member of Parliament for Central Nova, today presented the second of the Canadian Coast Guard’s new Hero class vessels, the CCGS Caporal Kaeble V.C.
  5. "No. 30903". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 September 1918. p. 11076.
  6. Castonguay, Jacques (1998). Kaeble, Joseph. Dictionary of Canadian Biography. 14. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  7. "Harper Government Names New Coast Guard Vessels in Honour of Canadian Heroes". Canada News Service. 10 February 2011. Archived from the original on 18 November 2012.
  8. Bryin Weese (9 February 2011). "Fallen Heroes to be honoured with namesake ships Thursday". Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on 18 November 2012.
  9. "Canadian Coast Guard's "Hero Class" Of Vessels". Department of Fisheries and Oceans. 10 February 2011. Archived from the original on 18 November 2012.
  10. "Ministers present new Coast Guard ship named for fallen hero". Metronews. 13 November 2012. Archived from the original on 18 November 2012. Canada’s defence and fisheries ministers were on hand Tuesday to present a new Coast Guard ship named for the first French-Canadian to receive the Victoria Cross.
  11. Barbara Mottram (13 November 2012). "Ministers Shea And Mackay Present the CCGS Caporal Kaeble V.C." Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Archived from the original on 18 November 2012. The Honourable Gail Shea, acting Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Member of Parliament for Central Nova, today presented the second of the Canadian Coast Guard’s new Hero class vessels, the CCGS Caporal Kaeble V.C.

Further reading
  • Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
  • The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
  • VCs of the First World War - Spring Offensive 1918 (Gerald Gliddon, 1997)

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