Pte
Basil George Duncan
Information about birth
|
Date of birth: 22/01/1895 |
|
Place of birth: Clark’s Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada |
General information
|
Last known residence: Clark’s Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada |
|
Profession: Fisherman |
|
Religion: Baptist |
Army information
|
Country: Canada |
|
Force: Canadian Expeditionary Force |
|
Rank: Private |
|
Service number: 282456 |
|
Enlistment date: 08/03/1916 |
|
Enlistment place: Clark’s Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada |
|
Units: — Canadian Infantry, 85th Bn. (Nova Scotia Highlanders) (Last known unit) |
Information about death
|
Date of death: 30/10/1917 |
|
Place of death: Vienna Cottages - Stein Hof, Passchendaele, Belgium |
|
Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
|
Age: 22 |
Cemetery
|
Tyne Cot Cemetery Plot: XXXVIII Row: A Grave: 11 |
Points of interest 4
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Last known residence | ||
| #3 | Enlistment place | ||
| #4 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Basil George Duncan was born in January 1895 in Clark’s Harbour, a fishing town on Cape Sable Island. Like nearly all the men of Clark’s Harbour, Basil made his living at sea. In March 1916, the young fisherman enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was eventually assigned to the 85th Battalion, better known as the Nova Scotia Highlanders, part of the 12th Canadian Brigade of the 4th Canadian Division.
On October 28, 1917, the 4th Canadian Division left camp near Ypres and moved to the front, relieving the 44th Battalion at Keerselaarhoek, between Decline Copse by the railway and Passchendaele Street. On October 29, the men spent the day in shell craters and narrow trenches, preparing for the attack the following day.
On October 30, 1917, the Canadians resumed their attack on Passchendaele. The 85th Battalion followed the Ypres–Roulers railway toward Vienna Cottages — before the war a cluster of homes nestled along the railway. The hamlet had been reduced to a string of shell holes. The Highlanders suffered severely: the guns meant to support the attack sank into the mud and could hardly offer any assistance. As soon as the Highlanders pulled themselves from the mire, they came under intense fire. Yet the storm surged forward, unstoppable. In return for the foul pits around Vienna Cottages, half the Highlanders were killed, wounded, or missing. Before returning to Canada, the 85th Battalion erected a memorial marker at roughly their jump-off point.
The 22-year-old was killed on October 30, 1917. He was buried near Vienna Cottages. After the war, he was reburied at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Plot XXXVIII, Row A, Grave 11.
On October 28, 1917, the 4th Canadian Division left camp near Ypres and moved to the front, relieving the 44th Battalion at Keerselaarhoek, between Decline Copse by the railway and Passchendaele Street. On October 29, the men spent the day in shell craters and narrow trenches, preparing for the attack the following day.
On October 30, 1917, the Canadians resumed their attack on Passchendaele. The 85th Battalion followed the Ypres–Roulers railway toward Vienna Cottages — before the war a cluster of homes nestled along the railway. The hamlet had been reduced to a string of shell holes. The Highlanders suffered severely: the guns meant to support the attack sank into the mud and could hardly offer any assistance. As soon as the Highlanders pulled themselves from the mire, they came under intense fire. Yet the storm surged forward, unstoppable. In return for the foul pits around Vienna Cottages, half the Highlanders were killed, wounded, or missing. Before returning to Canada, the 85th Battalion erected a memorial marker at roughly their jump-off point.
The 22-year-old was killed on October 30, 1917. He was buried near Vienna Cottages. After the war, he was reburied at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Plot XXXVIII, Row A, Grave 11.
Sources 4
|
Hayes J., The Eighty-Fifth in France and Flanders, (Halifax, Royal Print & Litho Limited, 1922), 90-96. Sources used |
|
McCarthy Chris., Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account (London, Unicorn Publishing Group, 2018) 153. Sources used |
|
Personnel Records of the First World War (Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (LAC), RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 2728 - 12). https://library-archives.canada.ca/ Sources used |
|
War diaries: 85st Canadian Infantry Battalion (Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (LAC), RG9-III-D-3, Volume number: 4944, Microfilm reel number: T-10751--T-10752, File number: 454). https://library-archives.canada.ca/ Sources used |
More information 4
|
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/462636 |
|
Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=971ea228-5945-4b8a-8eb0-9d48d2568ebf |
|
The Canadian Virtual War Memorial https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/462636 |
|
Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/5845425 |