Stanley T. Sellick - 186686 - Private CEF

Stanley Thomas Sellick was 19 years old, working as a firefighter when he enlisted in the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on November 16, 1915. He was born on July 13, 1896, at Selkirk, Manitoba. He enlisted with the 90th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Winnipeg Rifles). He sailed from Halifax on the S.S. Olympic, (sister ship to the Titanic) on May 31, 1916, and took more training in England before he arrived at the Western Front on August 27, 1917, joining the 8th Battalion, also known as the “Little Black Devils of Canada”. They got that nickname from their opponents in The Northwest Rebellion due to the dark colour of their uniforms.  

The Winnipeg Rifles fought in France and Flanders in the Battle of the Somme and Passchendaele and played a significant role in the Battle of Amiens. Pte Sellick was honourably discharged after the conclusion of the war on May 8, 1919. He moved to Port Arthur, Ontario, and worked until retirement as a ‘weighman’ with the Federal Board of Grain Commissioners. Married to Jean Komph in 1922, Sellick and Jean had two children (Doreen and Burton). Sellick’s brother, David, as well as his brother-in-law, Sydney Stibbard, also fought in the war. Unfortunately, both died in action.

We thank him for his service.

We will remember them.