Corporal Herman Aitken

CEF no. 112168

Brother of Private Arthur Aitken, Herman Aitken worked as a shoemaker with the London Shoe Co., in London, ON. He had been a student at Western University, where he played in the hockey team that won 1914 championship. Corporal Aitken enlisted on 7 May 1915 as a Private with the 7^th Canadian Mounted Rifles Regiment. In England, Aitken transferred to the Fort Garry Horse regiment, and proceeded to France in February 1916. Overseas, he was transferred to the 18^th Canadian Infantry Battalion. Cpl. Aitken was killed in action on 9 May 1917, near Fresnoy, France, and has no known grave. Newspapers reported him as a Corporal, though there is no mention in his CEF personal file.

He is commemorated on page 189 of the First World War Book of Remembrance (Memorial Chamber, Peace Tower, Parliament Hill).

Commemorated on: Vimy Memorial, France; family grave, Woodland Cemetery, London, ON.

Cpl. H. Aitken (low left corner) and 1914 Champion Hockey Team
Reproduced from microfilm. “London’s Only Hope for a Hockey Championship.” London Free Press, March 9, 1914, p. 6.