Pte
Carl Clarence Freeman
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 26/07/1896 |
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Place of birth: Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada |
General information
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Last known residence: Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada |
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Profession: Prison guard |
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Religion: Baptist |
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: 902298 |
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Enlistment date: 30/12/1916 |
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Enlistment place: Amherst, 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: 21 |
Cemetery
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Tyne Cot Cemetery Plot: XXXVI Row: G Grave: 10 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 5
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Last known residence | ||
| #3 | Place of work | ||
| #4 | Enlistment place | ||
| #5 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Carl Clarence Freeman was born in July 1896 in Amherst, Nova Scotia. In late 1916, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. At that time, he worked as a prison guard in the so-called "Detaining Force." Amherst was home to one of Canada's largest internment camps, where primarily civilians from countries at war with Canada were detained. The camp was overseen by Canadian military personnel. Its most well-known prisoner was the Russian socialist Leon Trotsky (1879–1940), who arrived in early April 1917. He later referred to the place as a “concentration camp.”
Carl was eventually assigned to the 85th Battalion, better known as the Nova Scotia Highlanders, part of the 12th Canadian Brigade within the 4th Canadian Division.
On 28 October 1917, the 4th Canadian Division left their camp near Ypres and moved to the front, relieving the 44th Battalion at Keerselaarhoek, between Decline Copse along the railway and the Passchendaele Road. The following day, 29 October, the soldiers took shelter in shell holes and narrow trenches in preparation for the next day’s attack.
On 30 October 1917, the Canadians resumed their attack on Passchendaele. The 85th Battalion advanced along the Ypres–Roulers railway toward Vienna Cottages — a hamlet that, before the war, had consisted of a few houses beside the tracks, now reduced to a landscape of mud and craters. The Highlanders suffered heavily: the artillery intended to support them sank into the mud and could barely provide covering fire. As soon as the men managed to free themselves from the mire, they came under intense fire. But the storm surged forward unstoppably. In exchange for the stinking craters near Vienna Cottages, half of the Highlanders were killed, wounded, or went missing. Before returning to Canada, the 85th Battalion erected a memorial near their original jumping-off point.
Carl Clarence Freeman was killed that day, on 30 October 1917, at the age of 21. He was buried near Vienna Cottages, close to where the memorial now stands. After the war, he was reburied at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Plot XXXVI, Row G, Grave 10.
Carl was eventually assigned to the 85th Battalion, better known as the Nova Scotia Highlanders, part of the 12th Canadian Brigade within the 4th Canadian Division.
On 28 October 1917, the 4th Canadian Division left their camp near Ypres and moved to the front, relieving the 44th Battalion at Keerselaarhoek, between Decline Copse along the railway and the Passchendaele Road. The following day, 29 October, the soldiers took shelter in shell holes and narrow trenches in preparation for the next day’s attack.
On 30 October 1917, the Canadians resumed their attack on Passchendaele. The 85th Battalion advanced along the Ypres–Roulers railway toward Vienna Cottages — a hamlet that, before the war, had consisted of a few houses beside the tracks, now reduced to a landscape of mud and craters. The Highlanders suffered heavily: the artillery intended to support them sank into the mud and could barely provide covering fire. As soon as the men managed to free themselves from the mire, they came under intense fire. But the storm surged forward unstoppably. In exchange for the stinking craters near Vienna Cottages, half of the Highlanders were killed, wounded, or went missing. Before returning to Canada, the 85th Battalion erected a memorial near their original jumping-off point.
Carl Clarence Freeman was killed that day, on 30 October 1917, at the age of 21. He was buried near Vienna Cottages, close to where the memorial now stands. After the war, he was reburied at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Plot XXXVI, Row G, Grave 10.
Sources 5
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Deveau L.J, "Amherst Internment Camp” (The Canadian Encyclopedia, Toronto, Historica Canada, 15 June 2025). https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/ 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 3300 - 17). https://library-archives.canada.ca/ Sources used |
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War diaries: 85th 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/462807 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=4bf8ae1c-63a6-4666-8498-7f33f3611fb3 |
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The Canadian Virtual War Memorial https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/462807 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/5876989 |