Information about birth

Date of birth:
07/09/1892
Place of birth:
Fowey, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom

General information

Profession:
Butcher
Religion:
Church of England

Army information

Country:
England, United Kingdom
Force:
British Expeditionary Force
Rank:
Private
Service number:
622106
Enlistment date:
23/12/1914
Enlistment place:
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Units:
 —  Canadian Infantry, 52nd Bn. (North Ontario)  (Last known unit)

Information about death

Date of death:
27/10/1917
Place of death:
Bellevue, Passchendaele, Belgium
Cause of death:
Killed in action (K.I.A.)
Age:
25

Memorial

Distinctions and medals 2

Points of interest 3

#1 Place of birth
#2 Enlistment place
#3 Place of death (approximate)

My story

Levi Charman was a 25-year-old butcher from Cornwall, Fowly. In 1913 he immigrated to Canada. On the 23rd of December 1914 he enlisted as a private at Winnipeg and joined the 52nd Canadian Infantry Battalion, part of the 9th Canadian Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division. In the summer of 1916 Levi was wounded by a shell and sent back to England. There he would marry Bella Seager on April 1st, 1917.

On 25 October 1917 the 3rd Canadian Division prepared an attack on the Bellevue Spur near Passchendaele. Two companies of the 52nd Canadian Infantry Battalion, namely “C” and “D” company were in close support of the 43rd and 58th battalions C.E.F. “C” company took up position behind the brick fields near Waterloo and “D” company positioned itself between Berlin Wood and Berlin. “A” and “B” company were in reserve at Abraham Heights.

The attack began at 5.40 a.m. on 26 October. The companies that went up with the 43rd and 58th Canadian Infantry battalions were able to advance and clear pillboxes at Bellvue. At 8:30 a.m. they had to fall back under heavy artillery fire, but were able to keep a foothold on the ridge. In the afternoon the rest of the 52nd Canadian Infantry Battalion finished clearing the positions at Bellevue and Laamkeek. At night the lines were consolidated.

On the 27th the new lines of 58th Canadian Infantry Battalion were shelled by the Germans, causing casualties and cutting communication lines. Some men were also hit by a sniper or machine gun fire. On the night of the 27th they were relieved and sent back into support at Abraham Heights. Private Levi Charman was killed in action on 27 October 1917 while holding the line at Bellevue. His body was not recovered after the war and he is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Bay 30, Stone N.

Files 1

Sources 5

Ancestry
https://www.ancestry.com/
Sources used
CWGC
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/922805/l-charman/
Sources used
Library and Archives Canada
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=97238
Sources used
Library and Archives Canada (War Diary)
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/Pages/war-diaries.aspx
Sources used
McCarthy C. "Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account" (London, Uniform, 2018).
Sources used