Pius Blanchard

Not every Canadian soldier reached a battlefield. Some trained, waited and prepared to serve overseas, only for the war to end before their deployment began. Private Pius Blanchard belonged to that often-overlooked group of wartime servicemen whose readiness to serve was genuine, even though circumstances kept them in Canada.

Pius Blanchard was born on September 27, 1926, in Prince Edward Island. Family history identifies his birthplace as Duvar Road, while a Royal Canadian Legion record lists Bloomfield. He grew up in a small Island community during the difficult years of the Great Depression and came of age while Canada was fighting the Second World War.

When Blanchard reached military age near the end of the conflict, he entered the Canadian Army. The Royal Canadian Legion’s Prince Edward Island wartime record identifies him as an infantryman whose service took place in Canada. His Army experience formed part of the country’s final wartime mobilization, when thousands of young Canadians were trained and held ready for whatever duties might still be required.

According to family history, Blanchard was preparing for overseas deployment, reportedly to Germany, when the war ended before he could be sent abroad. He therefore did not experience an overseas campaign or frontline combat. Nevertheless, he had accepted military discipline, completed his assigned service and stood prepared to leave Canada if ordered.

His story represents a part of Canadian military history that can easily be overlooked. The war effort depended not only on those already fighting overseas, but also on soldiers training at home, guarding installations, staffing military establishments and preparing to reinforce Canadian forces abroad. Their presence allowed the Army to maintain a continuing pool of trained personnel during the conflict’s final stages.

Blanchard’s reconstructed medal entitlement is represented by the War Medal 1939–1945, which recognized qualifying full-time service during the Second World War. The official requirement was at least 28 days of full-time service between September 3, 1939, and September 2, 1945. His personal service record or medal issue documentation would provide final archival confirmation of the award.

After leaving the Army, Blanchard returned to civilian life and became part of the generation that helped build postwar Canada. Like many veterans who had served entirely at home, he did not return with stories of famous battles or overseas campaigns. His contribution was quieter, but it remained part of Canada’s national commitment during the largest conflict in modern history.

Pius Blanchard holds a particularly meaningful place in the history of Victoriacross.ca as the father of the website’s owner. His inclusion is both a family tribute and an expression of the project’s wider purpose: to preserve the service of ordinary men and women whose lives were shaped by war, including those whose duties never carried them beyond Canada.

He died on July 31, 2020, at the age of 93. His legacy survives through his family and through the record of a young Prince Edward Islander who answered the call to serve when his country required him.