Pte
John Frederick Fielding
Information about birth
|
Date of birth: 31/03/1897 |
|
Place of birth: Gaspereau, Nova Scotia, Canada |
General information
|
Last known residence: Kentville, Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada |
|
Profession: Farmer |
|
Religion: Baptist |
Army information
|
Country: Canada |
|
Force: Canadian Expeditionary Force |
|
Rank: Private |
|
Service number: 282791 |
|
Enlistment date: 04/03/1916 |
|
Enlistment place: Kentville, Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada |
|
Units: — Canadian Infantry, 85th Bn. (Nova Scotia Highlanders) (Last known unit) |
Information about death
|
Date of death: 30/10/1917 |
|
Place of death: Decline Copse, Passchendaele, Belgium |
|
Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
|
Age: 20 |
Cemetery
|
Tyne Cot Cemetery Plot: XL Row: A Grave: 5 |
Distinctions and medals 2
|
British War Medal Medal |
|
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
John Frederick Fielding was born in March 1897 in rural Gaspereau, Nova Scotia. In March 1916, the young farmer enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in his hometown of Kentville, Nova Scotia. He was eventually assigned to the 85th Battalion, better known as the Nova Scotia Highlanders, part of the 12th Canadian Brigade of the 4th Canadian Division.
On October 28, 1917, the 4th Canadian Division left its camp near Ypres and moved to the front, where it relieved the 44th Battalion at Keerselaarhoek, between Decline Copse along the railway and the Passchendaele road. On October 29, the men waited in shell craters and narrow trenches, preparing for the next day’s assault.
On October 30, 1917, the Canadians resumed their assault on Passchendaele. The 85th Battalion advanced along the Ypres–Roulers railway line toward Vienna Cottages — once a cluster of homes nestled by the tracks, now reduced to a chain of craters. The Highlanders faced fierce resistance: the artillery meant to support the attack sank into the mud and provided little cover. As soon as the Highlanders pulled themselves from the muck, they came under heavy enemy fire. Still, the advance was unstoppable. In return for the putrid shell holes around Vienna Cottages, half of the Highlanders were killed, wounded, or missing. Before returning home, the 85th Battalion erected a memorial near their starting position.
John, just 20 years old, was killed in action on October 30, 1917. He was initially buried by the railway near Decline Copse. After the war, he was reburied at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Plot XL, Row A, Grave 5.
On October 28, 1917, the 4th Canadian Division left its camp near Ypres and moved to the front, where it relieved the 44th Battalion at Keerselaarhoek, between Decline Copse along the railway and the Passchendaele road. On October 29, the men waited in shell craters and narrow trenches, preparing for the next day’s assault.
On October 30, 1917, the Canadians resumed their assault on Passchendaele. The 85th Battalion advanced along the Ypres–Roulers railway line toward Vienna Cottages — once a cluster of homes nestled by the tracks, now reduced to a chain of craters. The Highlanders faced fierce resistance: the artillery meant to support the attack sank into the mud and provided little cover. As soon as the Highlanders pulled themselves from the muck, they came under heavy enemy fire. Still, the advance was unstoppable. In return for the putrid shell holes around Vienna Cottages, half of the Highlanders were killed, wounded, or missing. Before returning home, the 85th Battalion erected a memorial near their starting position.
John, just 20 years old, was killed in action on October 30, 1917. He was initially buried by the railway near Decline Copse. After the war, he was reburied at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Plot XL, Row A, Grave 5.
Sources 4
|
Hayes J., The Eighty-Fifth in France and Flanders, (Halifax, Royal Print & Litho Limited, 1922), 90-96. Sources used |
|
McCarthy Chris., Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account (London, Unicorn Publishing Group, 2018) 153. Sources used |
|
Personnel Records of the First World War (Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (LAC), RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 3075 - 21). https://library-archives.canada.ca/ Sources used |
|
War diaries: 85st 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
|
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/462737 |
|
Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=345c0696-5d19-4ea2-80af-2104d880e30b |
|
Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/5866458 |
|
The Canadian Virtual War Memorial https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/462737? |