Pte
Donald Burton Mullen
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 27/05/1897 |
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Place of birth: Weymouth, Nova Scotia, Canada |
General information
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Last known residence: Brass Hill, Nova Scotia, Canada |
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Profession: Clerk |
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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: 282754 |
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Enlistment date: 09/03/1916 |
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Enlistment place: Barrington Passage, 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: Tiber, 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: G Grave: 18 |
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
Donald Burton Mullen was born in May 1897 in Weymouth, Nova Scotia. He worked as a clerk and married Evelyn Christie in 1916 in Shelburne, Nova Scotia, where the young family settled. Shortly after, Donald enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in nearby Barrington Passage. He was assigned to the 85th Battalion, better known as the Nova Scotia Highlanders, part of the 12th Canadian Brigade within the 4th Canadian Division.
On October 28, 1917, the 4th Canadian Division moved from their camp near Ypres to the front lines, relieving the 44th Battalion at Keerselaarhoek, between Decline Copse along the railway and the Passchendaele road. The next day, the soldiers prepared for the attack by taking shelter in shell holes and narrow trenches.
On October 30, 1917, the Canadians resumed their assault on Passchendaele. The 85th Battalion advanced along the Ypres–Roulers railway toward Vienna Cottages — a hamlet that had once consisted of a few houses by the railway, now reduced to a landscape of mud and craters. The Highlanders faced extreme hardship: their supporting artillery had sunk into the mud and could offer little cover. As soon as the men freed themselves from the mire, they came under heavy fire. Yet they pressed forward relentlessly. In exchange for the stinking ruins at Vienna Cottages, half the Highlanders were killed, wounded, or reported missing. Even before their return to Canada, the 85th Battalion erected a memorial near their starting point.
Donald was initially reported wounded and missing on October 30, 1917. His body was later recovered and buried near Tiber, Passchendaele. After the war, he was reburied at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Plot XXXVI, Row G, Grave 18.
On October 28, 1917, the 4th Canadian Division moved from their camp near Ypres to the front lines, relieving the 44th Battalion at Keerselaarhoek, between Decline Copse along the railway and the Passchendaele road. The next day, the soldiers prepared for the attack by taking shelter in shell holes and narrow trenches.
On October 30, 1917, the Canadians resumed their assault on Passchendaele. The 85th Battalion advanced along the Ypres–Roulers railway toward Vienna Cottages — a hamlet that had once consisted of a few houses by the railway, now reduced to a landscape of mud and craters. The Highlanders faced extreme hardship: their supporting artillery had sunk into the mud and could offer little cover. As soon as the men freed themselves from the mire, they came under heavy fire. Yet they pressed forward relentlessly. In exchange for the stinking ruins at Vienna Cottages, half the Highlanders were killed, wounded, or reported missing. Even before their return to Canada, the 85th Battalion erected a memorial near their starting point.
Donald was initially reported wounded and missing on October 30, 1917. His body was later recovered and buried near Tiber, Passchendaele. After the war, he was reburied at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Plot XXXVI, Row G, Grave 18.
Sources 5
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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 6470 - 5). 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 |
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War Graves Registers: Circumstances of Death (Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (LAC), RG 150, 1992-93/314; Volume Number: 216). 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/464037 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=ec0489c0-1729-40ae-98ed-d5ce948415f4 |
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The Canadian Virtual War Memorial https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/464037 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/5682749 |