Lt
Gordon Franklin Leslie
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 26/06/1894 |
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Place of birth: Erin, Ontario, Canada |
General information
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Profession: Teacher |
Army information
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Country: Canada |
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Force: Canadian Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Lieutenant |
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Service number: / |
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Enlistment date: 30/41/916 |
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Enlistment place: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
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Units: — Canadian Infantry, 46th Bn. (South Saskatchewan) (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 26/10/1917 |
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Place of death: Crest Farm, Passchendaele, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 23 |
Cemetery
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Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood Plot: IV Row: C Grave: 1 |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Lt. Gordon Franklin Leslie - a schoolteacher from Edmonton, Alberta – served in the 46th Battalion Canadian Infantry (South Saskatchewan).
On 26 October 1917 his battalion took part in the Second Battle of Passchendaele. The 46th Battalion advanced north of the Ypres Roulers Railway. The jumping off line was situated in the line Heine House, Hillside Farm and Ypres Roulers Railway. They consolidated most of their objective under heave enemy shelling. ‘A’ Company’ under command of Lt. Leslie had to clear Decline Copse. The 46th Battalion encountered heavy German resistance. When the attack was checked the South Saskatchewans was driven back by German counterattacks.
Of the 420 men who went into the attack, around 70% became casualties. The war diary mentions that Gordon Franklin Leslie was killed mopping up Decline Copse. The 23-year-old was initially buried south of Crest Farm. After the war his remains were re-interred in the nearby Buttes New British Cemetery.
On 26 October 1917 his battalion took part in the Second Battle of Passchendaele. The 46th Battalion advanced north of the Ypres Roulers Railway. The jumping off line was situated in the line Heine House, Hillside Farm and Ypres Roulers Railway. They consolidated most of their objective under heave enemy shelling. ‘A’ Company’ under command of Lt. Leslie had to clear Decline Copse. The 46th Battalion encountered heavy German resistance. When the attack was checked the South Saskatchewans was driven back by German counterattacks.
Of the 420 men who went into the attack, around 70% became casualties. The war diary mentions that Gordon Franklin Leslie was killed mopping up Decline Copse. The 23-year-old was initially buried south of Crest Farm. After the war his remains were re-interred in the nearby Buttes New British Cemetery.
Sources 4
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Circumstances of death http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/microform-digitization/006003-119.01-e.php?q2=28&q3=2315&sqn=926&tt=961&PHPSESSID=pf868q7td101us1usidkvu8pl1 Sources used |
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McCarthy C., Passchendaele, The Third Ypres: The Day-by-Day Account, (Londen: Unicorn Publishing Group, 2018), pp. 126-128. 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 5592 - 16). https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/search.aspx Sources used |
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War diaries: 46th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (LAC), RG9-III-D-3, Volume number: 4939, Microfilm reel number: T-10745--T-10746, File number: 437). https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng 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/480332 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=14b96265-5f57-423b-af0b-23476130f8b4 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/6002793 |
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The Canadian Virtual War Memorial https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/480332 |