Private Lloyd Clair Park

Private Lloyd Clair Park

678203

Born - Smith Falls, ON

Killed in Action – Battle of Passchendale; Oct 27, 1917

They called it being ‘in reserve’. A safer place to be when you are facing the murderous abyss of a Great War battle? But the location of their reserve assignment was the exact same section in the sea of mud that the front-line soldiers were occupying. While the front lines lads had to ‘stand to’ thigh deep in the mess, the men of the 116th were tasked with hauling supplies up to them. That was the job of the men in reserve. Also, the front-line soldiers, in this case at Passchendale Ridge in the autumn of 1917, were the men from the 43rd and 58th Battalions. They were ordered to navigate the putrid, viscous hellscape and knock the other guys off the slight rise in the distance. But how? This battlefield was different from all others. It was composed of a virtual ocean of deep, life-sucking mud where the only way to move forward, backwards or in any direction was to walk on some wooden planks…in direct view of the enemy…and in range of their guns. The job of Private Lloyd Clair Park and his 116th Battalion mates was to haul up those planks.

The wooden devices as described were called duckboards. They were 8-10 foot lengths of wooden planks nailed together in such a fashion that they looked like a ladder. The duckboards were laid end-to-end atop of the mud. Without these devices, movement was impossible. More importantly, if a man happened to slip off one of these contraptions or dive off one of them into the mud to seek refuge from incoming artillery, escape was often futile. The men would simply and slowly disappear into the mud. Gone.

In the fall of 1917, the Canadians and Australians were given the task of taking this important ridge. The attack went off on Oct 24th and for the first three days…and nights, it was the job of the 116th to carry duckboards up to the front. Once installed, they then needed to be used for something to walk on while they carried ammunition and supplies to the men executing the attack. Meanwhile, at the end of this makeshift duckboard highway two armies mashed each other with constant shellfire until the terrain became the consistency of porridge. By the evening of the 26th, the 58th had lost 6 officers and 57 soldiers. Another 27 were declared ‘missing’…formal for ‘consumed by the earth’. The 43rd had an equally horrific three days. 36 men were killed and the bodies of another 66 could not be found. They also lost 3 officers. In total 162 souls were lost by these two battalions.

In the early morning hours of the 27th of October, after continuously hauling ammunition, supplies, duckboards and his ass back and forth for three days Private Lloyd Park joined his battalion-mates in relieving the decimated battalions. Park was only 21 years old. He was originally from Smith Falls, a small town situated south-west of Ottawa. His family decided to move to Toronto whereby Lloyd elected to pursue higher education following his graduation from high school. However, like many of his friends his education was cut short by the war. In early 1916 he enlisted with the 169th Battalion. After completing his basic training on Oct 26th he climbed aboard the SS Corsican and set off for England. Park was later transferred to the 3rd Labour Battalion before joining the 116th on Aug 22nd, 1917.

Park’s first days with the 116th saw him participate in the attack on Hill 70 at Lens. After he survived this baptism of fire, the unit proceeded onto Passchendale. It was here where the young fresh-faced Torontonian’s time serving in His Majesty’s Canadian Expeditionary Force would come to an end. After days slogging in the mud, back and forth, soaked, chilled to the bone and utterly and completely exhausted on the 27th of October he joined his battalion as they relieved the 43rd and 58th battalions. The last record of him details that he assumed sentry duty as the men assumed the trenches. That was the last of him. The last of Lloyd Park. He was hit by incoming shellfire. Nothing was left. Nothing save the memories of family and friends back home and a few letters denoting his name that were carved into a wall at a place called Menin Gate.

RIP Private Lloyd Clair Park

Lest we forget.

Private Corless, Private Wood and Private Childs

Private Hubert Snell Corless

775460

Born April 20, 1898 Bolton ON

Killed in Action Oct 30, 1917 Battle of Passchendaele

Buried at Passchendaele British Cemetery

Private William Henry Wood

775584

Born 1899 Bolton ON

Killed in Action July 23, 1917 Fosse 4 Raid at Avion

Buried at Bruay Communal Cemetery

Private Erwin Lorne Childs

775455

Born 1897 Bolton ON

Died 1974, Dearborn Michigan, USA

(3-4 minute read)

Broad smiles and hearty handshakes. And cheerful, excited pats on the back of a mate coupled with a well-timed verbal jab. One by one they arrived at the station. The boys of Bolton; Hubert Corless, Lorne Childs, Eugene Liscombe, Willie Wood, Clarence Bowes, Tommy Smith….and these were just the ones who had already arrived. More than a dozen of the mates from town had signed up to the 126th Peel Battalion. The boys were going off to war.

Each and every one of them looked smart in their khaki best. However, their plump cheeks and hairless visages revealed that while they were dressed like men, they were still only boys. Their lots should have been goofy roughhousing, stammering attempts to talk to girls and typical demonstrations of youthful immaturity. But this was the spring of 1916 and these lads were now Canadian soldiers. They were all pals…pals from the sleepy town of Bolton Ontario and they all joined up to do their bit. With tearful goodbyes and waves of ‘see you soon’ to loves ones lining the station platform, they all turned to each other and shared joyous, youthful gleeful laughter for the remainder of the journey. Those flashes of happy times reflected in their minds for years and years to follow…at least for the ones who remained, that is.

Somewhere in France. Nov 26, 1917…that was how the letter began. Almost two years had passed since they all travelled to the recruiting station in Brampton. They were all barely out of school and yet 7 months later they were walking aboard the Empress of Britain for the journey over there. Shortly after arriving in England, the 126th Peel Battalion, the one they all trained with, a thousand-odd men from the area bounded by Mississauga, Oakville and up through Milton, Brampton, Caledon, Bolton and all the hamlets in between was being broken up. Many of the boys of the 126th joined the 116th Battalion, including the protagonist of the letter Lorne Childs and his close mates Hubert Corless and Willie Wood.

The concept of friends joining up and serving together was quite common. This was the nature of how battalions were raised throughout the Empire. All the lads from local schools, from the town’s factory, plant or mine would all decide to join up and serve together. It was promoted as a way to ensure that friends could spend their war years together, have a few laughs, watch over each other’s backs. It was a perfect way to convince men to join the war effort while keeping morale up. Can one think of a better way to build His Majesty’s forces? Within a few paragraphs of the letter one better understands the weakness in this tactic. The challenge with friends serving together is that, in war friends die. If a particular unit was in the thick of the action, many close friends would be killed. There are many examples where the lads who enlisted from and entire street, team or workplace would be wiped out together. Thankfully, many of the boys that enjoyed that joyous trip to Camp Bordon did return home. However, as evident from his note, a number of them didn’t.

Private William Henry Wood was only 17 years old when he signed up. He was a boy by any definition of the word. The boy was handsome gent with a friendly countenance. However, aren’t we all that in our teenaged years. He was killed in the first real action of the 116th. This was a raid at Fosse 4, a slag heap that was protected by a series of German trenches. They, it would come to appear, be protecting a few piles of bricks…as noted by the Adjutant in his history of the event. Willy was the first of Lorne’s friends to be killed. The second was Hubey Corless. Hubey, like his school-mate Wille was also now 19 years of age. He was killed at Passchendale. The cold, wet, putrid spot of sludge, significant for nothing, pummeled into nothing, consuming all.

Whether it be the positive nature of the lad, the fear of the censors or both, yet his letter where he just spoke about two friends dying in combat…one just over three weeks prior concludes with the jingoistic message “The Germans seem strong yet, but Johnny Bull and Jack Canuck at his side and the hundred thousand of the R. (Robert) L. Borden Battalion which the Union Government will send, will make Emperor Wille sit up.” He was referring to the draft, just approved in Canadian Parliament and the resulting massive influx of men who would soon join him and his mates over in France. Today, we would expect a letter home that dripped with emotion, reflecting loss and sorrow. Be it the time, the conservative nature of the writer or that of the censor, his note reflected that the Canadians needed every bit of help they could get to muster a win, but more importantly, to survive.

Lorne, Clarence, Eugene and many of the lads who shared that laugh-filled departure would return home. They would gather on occasion. There would be more rounds of handshakes and hugs. Laugh filled stories about their time together would abound…but it would never be the same. Then again, really…how could it?

Private William Everette Brewster

Private William Everette Brewster

264384

Born 1895 Attala, Alabama USA

Killed in Action Oct 27, 1917 at Passchendale

He would have been so happy to tell everyone the news. The 20 yr old boy just made the first real decision of is life. His father had died far too soon 6 years prior leaving his mother, Ida, to raise the 8 children with one of the way. The family lived in the deep south. Atalla, Alabama…sunny days, riverboat rides and cotton mills. It was as far from the chaos of the Western Front as one could get. In the summer of 1916, William Everette Brewster, grandson of a Civil War vet decided to take the long trek north and enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

The 1500 km long journey would have caused him to combine long walks, passenger buses, long train rides and maybe even come horse and carriage. His destination was Camp Bordon, just east of Barrie Ontario. The summer of 1916 saw a long string of Americans travel north to enlist in the CEF. The United States has not yet entered the conflict, but legions of adventurous and idealistic young lads wanted to ensure they did not miss the big show. For an American youngster, grandsons of those who fought in one of humanities bloodiest conflicts, the US Civil War, wanted to show their family that they were as strong and as brave as their forefathers. This war was one of idealism…still in 1916. Newspapers and a new array of books and periodicals told stories of the German Army brutalized the Belgian and French people. If they did not join up to push back the evil Hun then who would?

The end of Everette’s journey north would find him at Camp Bordon. It was here where he became Private Everette Brewster joining his mates from across the United States in the new 213rd "American Legion" Battalion. After training, the Battalion left for England in the late fall and arrived in Liverpool on Nov 20th, 1916. The men of the 213rd were absorbed into a number of battalions on the eve of departure for the front. While waiting for the order to depart to France, Everette was placed with the 116th arriving on the continent on March 17th. This was less that three weeks away from the scheduled start of Canada’s greatest and most storied battles to date, The Battle of Vimy Ridge.

Everette was able to survive Vimy before participating in the raid at Fosse 4 at Avion which saw the entire battalion go over the bags. The next was the attack on Hill 70 at Lens which costs the battalion over 25 of his new pals were killed. Scores more were wounded in the actions. The 116th was taking a beating. However, with the successes demonstrated by the CEF in the spring and summer, Currie was asked to lead his men on the attack at Passchendale.

It was on the eve of his attack when he heard the great news. On September 28th, his big brother, Rossiter Julias received his call to join the US Army regiment enroute to France. He was going to be a Doughboy! Thus, doing into their new operation the young private was elated to have one of his brothers join the fray. However, disaster would strike for the Brewster family. Based on the timing, it would be certain that as Rossiter stepped off the gangplanks onto French soil, he would get the notice that his brother, the one he came to join in glory on the western front, was killed in combat. Private William Everette Brewster, grandson of a Civil War Vet and Canadian Soldier, on Oct 27th was killed in the mud and morass of Passchendale. His remains were never found and his name remains carved in the marble on the Menin Gate, Ypres Belgium.

Lest we forget.

Private William John Puddicomb

Private William Puddicomb

Born in Chemsford, ON June 4, 1896

Lived in Midland, ON

Killed in Action Oct 24, 19178 in the Battle of Passchendale

Buried at Oxford Road Cemetery in Wietje, Ypres, Belgium

With the men of the 116th having spent their third day at the front at Vimy and seeing the massive amount of preparation taking place, it would certainly shake the nerves of a man, even if he was a soldier. Probably incited by the rumours of a fellow battalion-mate looking for an easy exit from the impending battle, another young man took it upon himself to ‘accidentally’ shoot himself. On March 14th, 1917 Private William John Puddicomb placed the muzzle of his rifle to his foot and tried to blow his toe off.

Williams’ desperate attempt to save himself did not resonate well with his senior officers. Following a 28 day penalty for Private Smith trying to blow off a few digits on the 12th, two days earlier, the officers needed to stem this apparent tactic quickly before other men tried to injure themselves as well. Thus, as recorded within his service files Pte. Puddicomb after being “In confinement awaiting trial 15-3-1917” he was “Tried and convicted by F G C M, 23-3-1917 for whilst on active service “conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline negligently wounding himself in the left hand (was foot) and sentenced to 58 days Field Punishment”

While William did his best to exchange a toe for a boat ride home to his unfortunate circumstance, the injury healed itself and he was sent back to the mud. This continued to be a dire situation for the young man. After participating in the raid at the coal mine at Fosse near Avion and the diversionary attack on Hill 70, the stress and burden of the war was breaking him down. On September 10th he was permitted to go to the infirmary and was hospitalized for Trench Fever/Shell Shock. The military gifted him a total of 10 days out of the line before they declared him cured and sent him back into the meat grinder of the Western Front. The 116th next destination was Passchendale.

The battalion was on their first day fighting in the seminal battle when Private William John Puddicomb fell. The battalion diary barely gave his loss any notice recognizing it with the fewest of words “1 O.R. killed”. For a man who must have been living in desperation, uncertainty and fear since the battalion arrived in France he was ultimately freed of his burden in the mud and rain of Passchendale.

Lest we forget.

Corporal Wiliam Harrison Hawkins

Corporal William Harrison Kirby Hawkins

745085

Born Guelph ON, Jan 22, 1895

Lived in Guelph, ON

Died of Wounds Nov 2, 1917 – Battle of Passchendaele

The record does not provide much more than “Died of Wounds” however it happened in one the Canadian Corp’s most arduous battle, simply called Passchendaele.

In 1916, at the time he enlisted William Harrison Kirby Hawkins was employed as a machinist. He was born in Guelph, a relatively rural town at the time, and moved to Toronto. Based on his address, he would have lived right in the heart of the city. His home is now replaced with soaring towers bordered by more towers stretching out from all directions. 100 years may have passed, however the one thing that would be the same would be the fury of activity that echoes across the century old time span.

William decided to travel up to Uxbridge to join Sam Sharpe’s 116th. The story behind his decision is unknown as he would certainly be able to enlist in a Toronto-based unit if that was his preference. Yet, he travelled up to Uxbridge and signed up on March 18th of 1916. While in training at Camp Bordon, William was appointed Lance Corporal. Soon thereafter he was promoted to Corporal while at Camp Whitley in England. When the battalion was dispatched to France in February, he reverted to the rank of a private but was given his stripes back just before Vimy.

Fast forwarding through Avion and Hill 70, we find ourselves in late October 1917. The 116th was assigned to a support position in the 9th Brigade as they set to attack the Bellevue Spur at Passchendaele. The 116th Battalion Diary records the effort as one of the “fiercest and most bloody onslaughts in its history” whereby the 9th Brigade and the Canadian Corps “destroyed the entire German garrison”. This was accomplished in an area that had just endured constant and oppressive rainfall, leaving behind a battlefield that more represented an endless sea of shell holes and sucking mud. The shell holes were filled with water stewed by the putrid, decaying remains of Ypres battles not long since passed. This was the curse for the infantry soldier as he executed his orders.

After the successful actions of Oct 26th and 27, the 116th remained in a support role as the Canadians consolidated their position. On Nov 1st, they were ordered to move into the line at Gravenstafel to support the 7th Canadian Infantry brigade…but then the order was cancelled. Then they were ordered to relive the 16th Canadian Battalion at St Jean…but then this order was cancelled. Finally, they were ordered to assist in supplying the 42nd Battalion who where already in the line at the front.

It was in these mess of a situation, where Corporal William Hawkins was assigned to lead his unit in resupply tasks across the sea of sucking mud, was hit. He received wounds to his thigh and his arm. Wounds from which he would not survive, despite being evacuated from that hellhole back to the Casualty Clearing Station at Lijssenthoek.

Lest we forget.

(if anyone is related to Corporal Hawkins or has any pictures to submit, please do.)