My great grand uncle Jesse Earl Muttart

by Marilyne Lambert

My great grand uncle Jesse Earl Muttart was born on Jan. 23, 1885 in Fifteen Point, close to Summerside, in P.E.I. He travelled to Edmonton in the early 1900’s with his family and close relatives, the Clarks. They were involved with Construction and Lumber. Jesse had a wife, Emily, and a young daughter, Mary.

Jesse served 2 months with the 101st and then signed up for the Overseas Expeditionary Forces on Aug. 19, 1915. He went overseas with the 51st Battalion in the spring of 1916. Shortly after arriving in England he was drafted to France and took part in many heavy engagements including the Battle of the Somme and Vimy Ridge. He was then with the 1st Quebec Regiment, 14th Battalion. For bravery in carrying dispatches under heavy fire in the latter struggle he was awarded the Military Medal. He escaped serious injury until Nov. 6, 1917 when while acting as a runner during the Passchendaele Operations and passing through Wieltje, he was wounded in the face and right leg by shrapnel. He was evacuated to #22 General Hospital at Camiers where he succumbed to his injuries on November 22, 1917. Corporal Jesse Muttart is buried in France in the Etaples Military Cemetery, plot 30, row M, grave 12.

Jesse’s family, the Muttarts, were very involved in early Edmonton Construction as well as being highly patriotic and civic minded. Merril Muttart and his wife Gladys would later create the Muttart Foundation, donating land and funds for the Muttart Conservatory. Merril was Jesse’s nephew.

So many strong, talented young men and women died for our freedom. Let us never forget.