Lt
Gordon Franklin Leslie
Information about birth
Date of birth: 26/06/1894 |
Place of birth: Erin, Ontario, Canada |
General information
Profession: Teacher |
Army information
Country: Canada |
Force: Canadian Expeditionary Force |
Rank: Lieutenant |
Service number: / |
Enlistment date: 30/41/916 |
Enlistment place: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
Units: — Canadian Infantry, 46th Bn. (South Saskatchewan) (Last known unit) |
Information about death
Date of death: 26/10/1917 |
Place of death: Crest Farm, Passchendaele, Belgium |
Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
Age: 23 |
Cemetery
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 6
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 |
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/480332/LESLIE,%20GORDON%20FRANKLIN Sources used |
Passchendaele, the Day-by-Day account, McCarthy Chris, pp. 126-128 Sources used |
Service Record http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=526518 Sources used |
The Long Long Trail http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/ Sources used |
War Diary 46th Battalion Canadian Infantry, 1917 http://data4.collectionscanada.gc.ca/netacgi/nph-brs?s1=46th+battalion&s13=&s12=1917&l=20&s9=RG9&s7=9-52&Sect1=IMAGE&Sect2=THESOFF&Sect4=AND&Sect5=WARDPEN&Sect6=HITOFF&d=FIND&p=1&u=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/archivianet/02015202_e.html&r=2&f=G Sources used |