Pte
Percy Evans
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 26/03/1888 |
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Place of birth: Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Profession: Baker |
Army information
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Country: Canada |
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Force: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Private |
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Service number: 198486 |
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Enlistment date: 15/12/1915 |
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Enlistment place: Fort William, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada |
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Units: — Canadian Infantry, 28th Bn. (North West) (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 07/11/1917 |
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Place of death: Passchendaele, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 29 |
Cemetery
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Tyne Cot Cemetery Plot: XVII Row: H Grave: 10 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Private Percy Evans of the Canadian Infantry, 28th Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division, fought in the final stages of the Third Battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele.
Born in Hartshill, Stafforshire, England on 26 March 1888, Percy was the son of Walter and Annie Maria Evans. Percy emigrated to Canada in 1911, where he later enlists for service at Fort William on 15 December 1915. Private Evans gave his most recent address as Kakabeka falls, Onatrio. He names his Sister Norah, who had followed him to Canada, as his next-of-kin and had been a Baker by occupation.
Private Evans’ unit embarked from Canada on 28 June 1916, arriving at Liverpool on the 5th of July. He was briefly transferred to the 17th Battalion Canadian Infantry on 13 July 1916, but re-joined the 28th Battalion on 3 September after proceeding overseas to France. From the 23rd of October 1916 he received a weeks training in the form of a Lewis Gun course before re-joining his unit in the field.
Since 3 November 1917, following the end of The Second Battle of Passchendaele, the 2nd Canandian Division had been stationed at Crest Farm, on the outskirts of Passchendaele, and on 6 November they were involved in a consolidatory operation. The Division attacked with the 6th Brigade, advancing to the village of Passchendaele with the 27th, 31st and 28th Battalions.
At 6.00 a.m. the allied artillery opened up an incredibly heavy artillery barrage on the crest of the Passchendaele Ridge. The attack was accompanied with an enormous amount of shellfire on both sides, but the swampy nature of the ground made a lot of shells to misfire. The Germans defended the Passchendaele ridge with machinegun fire from pill-boxes, situated at strategic points, like crossroads and ruined farms. The German main line of defence ran along the Passchendaele-Mosselmarkt Road. This line however lacked the protection of concrete dug-outs and many Germans were killed due to the allied barrage, others were quickly seen fleeing from the line, but the concrete pill-boxes still remained a threat. Notwithstanding the heavy machine gun fire the advancing troops pressed on, outflanking and clearing the pill-boxes.
By 7.40 a.m. all Companies had reached their objectives. Consolidation was completed shortly after 10.00 a.m. The Battalion suffered 35 casualties during the attack itself. However once the men occupied the hillcrest the Germans put down a heavy barrage on the Canadians. On top of this the Canadian troops were frequently strafed by German aeroplanes. Parties of stretcher bearers encountered great difficulties in evacuating the wounded, due to the shelling and the ghastly state of the ground.
Private Evans was Killed in Action on 7th November. He is officially buried at Tyne Cot Cemetery; Plot 17, Row H, Grave 10. By looking at his Burial Return Sheet we know that his remains were found just west of the Passchendaele church. According to his Circumstances of Death Record; He had been wounded in the arm and leg, probably during the course of the previous days operation to capture the ruins of Passchendaele and as he was being carried to a dressing station when an German shell landed in the middle of the carrying party, immediately killing him.
Born in Hartshill, Stafforshire, England on 26 March 1888, Percy was the son of Walter and Annie Maria Evans. Percy emigrated to Canada in 1911, where he later enlists for service at Fort William on 15 December 1915. Private Evans gave his most recent address as Kakabeka falls, Onatrio. He names his Sister Norah, who had followed him to Canada, as his next-of-kin and had been a Baker by occupation.
Private Evans’ unit embarked from Canada on 28 June 1916, arriving at Liverpool on the 5th of July. He was briefly transferred to the 17th Battalion Canadian Infantry on 13 July 1916, but re-joined the 28th Battalion on 3 September after proceeding overseas to France. From the 23rd of October 1916 he received a weeks training in the form of a Lewis Gun course before re-joining his unit in the field.
Since 3 November 1917, following the end of The Second Battle of Passchendaele, the 2nd Canandian Division had been stationed at Crest Farm, on the outskirts of Passchendaele, and on 6 November they were involved in a consolidatory operation. The Division attacked with the 6th Brigade, advancing to the village of Passchendaele with the 27th, 31st and 28th Battalions.
At 6.00 a.m. the allied artillery opened up an incredibly heavy artillery barrage on the crest of the Passchendaele Ridge. The attack was accompanied with an enormous amount of shellfire on both sides, but the swampy nature of the ground made a lot of shells to misfire. The Germans defended the Passchendaele ridge with machinegun fire from pill-boxes, situated at strategic points, like crossroads and ruined farms. The German main line of defence ran along the Passchendaele-Mosselmarkt Road. This line however lacked the protection of concrete dug-outs and many Germans were killed due to the allied barrage, others were quickly seen fleeing from the line, but the concrete pill-boxes still remained a threat. Notwithstanding the heavy machine gun fire the advancing troops pressed on, outflanking and clearing the pill-boxes.
By 7.40 a.m. all Companies had reached their objectives. Consolidation was completed shortly after 10.00 a.m. The Battalion suffered 35 casualties during the attack itself. However once the men occupied the hillcrest the Germans put down a heavy barrage on the Canadians. On top of this the Canadian troops were frequently strafed by German aeroplanes. Parties of stretcher bearers encountered great difficulties in evacuating the wounded, due to the shelling and the ghastly state of the ground.
Private Evans was Killed in Action on 7th November. He is officially buried at Tyne Cot Cemetery; Plot 17, Row H, Grave 10. By looking at his Burial Return Sheet we know that his remains were found just west of the Passchendaele church. According to his Circumstances of Death Record; He had been wounded in the arm and leg, probably during the course of the previous days operation to capture the ruins of Passchendaele and as he was being carried to a dressing station when an German shell landed in the middle of the carrying party, immediately killing him.
Sources 4
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Circumstances of death http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/mass-digitized-archives/circumstances-death-registers/Pages/circumstances-death-registers.aspx Sources used |
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McCarthy C., Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Uniform, 2018), pg. 160-161. 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 2949 - 29). 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: 28th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (LAC), RG9-III-D-3, Volume number: 4935, Microfilm reel number: T-10739--T-10740, File number: 425). 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/462697 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=cec7b764-2afe-4393-b41a-402ea3a58825 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/5858781 |
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The Canadian Virtual War Memorial https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/462697 |