Heber Stevenson
Heber Stevenson is an excellent example of the many lumbering roles men in the Forestry Corps played.
Born on Prince Edward Island, he was working as a lumberman at Bull River, BC when he enlisted on 25 March 1917. Very soon after his arrival in France with the 41st Company, he was appointed Engineer. A few months later, he was appointed log-setter, then edgerman - all important roles in the operation of a busy sawmill producing a wide variety of lumber products.
The fact that he spent only a few months at a time in each of these roles suggests he may have been training other members of the Company. His higher-than-average wage supports this: even though he retained the rank of private, which normally paid $1.10 per day, he was paid as much as $2.25 per day - similar to the pay of junior and non-commissioned officers.
In July 1918, Stevenson was struck in the chest by an iron lever. A couple of weeks later, he was suffering pain and swelling and was evacuated to the General Hospital at Rouen. The injury abscessed and required two operations - one in January 1919, and another in September after he had been invalided to a hospital in Calgary - before it healed.