Pte
Leo Victor Curley
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 12/04/1897 |
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Place of birth: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada |
General information
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Last known residence: 68 Maitland Street, Halifax, Nov Scotia, Canada |
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Profession: Clerk |
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Religion: Roman Catholic |
Army information
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Country: Canada |
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Force: Canadian Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Private |
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Service number: 282073 |
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Enlistment date: 01/03/1916 |
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Enlistment place: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada |
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Units: — Canadian Infantry, 85th Bn. (Nova Scotia Highlanders) (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 30/10/1917 |
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Place of death: Vienna Cottages - Stein Hof, Passchendaele, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 20 |
Cemetery
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Tyne Cot Cemetery Plot: XXXVI Row: E Grave: 22 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 4
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Last known residence | ||
| #3 | Enlistment place | ||
| #4 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Leo Victor Curley was born in April 1897 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he lived and worked. In March 1916, the young clerk enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. His brothers Daniel and Joseph also served. 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, where they relieved 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 next day’s assault.
On October 30, 1917, the Canadians resumed their attack on Passchendaele. The 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders) followed the Ypres–Roulers railway line toward Vienna Cottages — once a cluster of homes nestled by the tracks. The hamlet had been reduced to a chain of shell craters. The Highlanders suffered heavily: the guns meant to support the attack sank into the mud and could barely offer cover. As soon as the Highlanders pulled themselves from the muck, they came under intense fire. But the storm surged forward unstoppably. In exchange for the putrid craters at Vienna Cottages, half the Highlanders were killed, missing, or wounded. Before returning to Canada, the 85th Battalion placed a memorial marker near their jumping-off point.
Leo, just 21 years old, was killed in action on October 30, 1917. He was buried in a field grave near Vienna Cottages. After the war, he was reburied at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Plot XXXVI, Row E, Grave 22.
On October 28, 1917, the 4th Canadian Division left camp near Ypres and moved to the front, where they relieved 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 next day’s assault.
On October 30, 1917, the Canadians resumed their attack on Passchendaele. The 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders) followed the Ypres–Roulers railway line toward Vienna Cottages — once a cluster of homes nestled by the tracks. The hamlet had been reduced to a chain of shell craters. The Highlanders suffered heavily: the guns meant to support the attack sank into the mud and could barely offer cover. As soon as the Highlanders pulled themselves from the muck, they came under intense fire. But the storm surged forward unstoppably. In exchange for the putrid craters at Vienna Cottages, half the Highlanders were killed, missing, or wounded. Before returning to Canada, the 85th Battalion placed a memorial marker near their jumping-off point.
Leo, just 21 years old, was killed in action on October 30, 1917. He was buried in a field grave near Vienna Cottages. After the war, he was reburied at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Plot XXXVI, Row E, Grave 22.
Sources 6
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"Has Three Sons In The Great War” (Halifax, Halifax Evening Mail, April 1917). Sources used |
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"Private Curley Is Killed in Battle” (Halifax, Halifax Evening Mail, November 1917). Sources used |
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Hayes J., The Eighty-Fifth in France and Flanders, (Halifax, Royal Print & Litho Limited, 1922), 90-96. Sources used |
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McCarthy Chris., Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account (London, Unicorn Publishing Group, 2018) 153. Sources used |
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Personnel Records of the First World War (Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (LAC), RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 2224 - 51). https://library-archives.canada.ca/ Sources used |
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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
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/462457 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=c34f8ca6-21f0-43ac-9012-8b9fbe21839f |
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The Canadian Virtual War Memorial https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/462457 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/5606353 |