Arthur William Currie

Arthur Currie

December 5, 1875 - November 30, 1933

Arthur Currie

Arthur William Currie was born on December 5th, 1875 Napperton, Ontario, where he attended Strathroy Collegiate Institute. Before beginning a successful military career, Currie moved to Victoria, British Columba (1895), where he was a school teacher, a real estate agent, as well as an insurance broker. He was almost thrown into jail for embezzlement until a group of his friends came to his financial rescue.

Currie joined the army militia prior to the beginning World War 1. He quickly rose through the ranks to becoming the Commanding Officer (CO) of his regiment. Upon the breaking out of war in August of 1914, Currie was sent to Europe. He was eventually appointed commander of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade on 29 September 1914. His control over his troops would be tested at the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915, where Germans unleashed chemical weapons on a large scale.

The Germans unleashed 168 tons of chlorine gas on the allied forces. The chlorine gas at Ypres was denser than air, so it sank into the trenches.