Joseph Kaeble

Joseph Thomas Keable, VC, MM (5 May 1892 – 9 June 1918) was a Canadian soldier during the First World War. Keable was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was the first French Canadian soldier to be decorated with the VC and Military Medal.

Mostly wrongly spelled Kaeble in English, his actual name at baptism was Keable. His name is also oddly spelled Kable in a page of the 1911 Census of Canada.

Biography

Born in Saint-Moïse, east of Mont-Joli, Joseph Kaeble lived in the Gaspé until the age of 22. He had a brother, a sister, and a half-brother. His father died when he was still a child, and the family then settled in Sayabec, a village at the head of Lac Matapédia. There Kaeble attended the school run by the Frères de la Croix de Jésus, where he was remembered as a serious and energetic student. Later he worked as a mechanic at a local sawmill.

On March 20, 1916, Kaeble volunteered in the 189th Infantry Battalion and trained at Valcartier for six months before being sent to England on September 27. In England Kaeble was transferred to the 69th Infantry Battalion, which would be incorporated into the 22nd Infantry Battalion. Kaeble had the rank on private and was part of a machine gun team.

Burial and Legacy

Kaeble wad buried in the CWGC extension of Wanquetin Communal Cemetery- Plot II, Row A, Grave 8 - which is found about eleven kilometres (seven miles) west of Arras.

At CFB Valcartier, honours to Keable include Mount Keable, just east of Camp Vimy; a street on the base; and the Keable Club, the privates' and corporals' mess. The second vessel was named CCGS Caporal Keable V.C. in his honour, and was presented to the Coast Guard on 13 November 2012.