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Frederick Ernest Carter
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 29/01/1871 |
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Place of birth: Little Bentley, Essex, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Last known residence: Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada |
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Profession: Prospector |
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Religion: Church of England |
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: 442044 |
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Enlistment date: 14/07/1915 |
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Enlistment place: Camp Vernon, British Columbia, Canada |
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Units: — Canadian Infantry, 7th Bn. (1st British Columbia) (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 14/04/1916 |
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Place of death: Transport Farm, Zillebeke, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 45 |
Memorial
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Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial Panel: 24 A |
Points of interest 4
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Last known residence | ||
| #3 | Enlistment place | ||
| #4 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Frederick Ernest Carter was born in 1871 Little Bentley, a small village in Essex. When Frederick came of age, he emigrated to Canada, and settled in Kamloops, British Columbia, at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. In the second half of the 19th century, Kamloops developed into a small town driven by logging, mining and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Frederick operated out of Kamloops as a prospector. He married Violet Adelaide MacNab in 1902. In 1912 at the age of 32 his wife died of a stroke. Frederick and Violet had two small daughters, Violet and Beryl.
Frederick made the local news in 1906. As a member of the Rocky Mountain Rangers militia, he assisted in the capture of the Bill Miner gang. On 12 May 1906 Bill Miner, a notorious American train robber held up a Canadian Pacific Railway passenger train just east of Kamloops with “Shorty” Dunn and Lewis Colquhoun. Frederick received $500 for his help in arresting the gang. In 1915 Frederick enlisted in the army. He was taken on by the 7th Battalion (1st British Columbia).
At St. Eloi, to the south of Ypres, stands The Mound, a spoil heap left behind by a brickworks. The hillock was in German hands and a thorn in the side of the British high command. On 27 March 1916, six deep mines reduced The Mound to a series of craters.
After a week of bloody fighting, the craters were in British hands. In early April Canadian troops relieved the British. The positions were rudimentary, the trenches shallow and flooded. The dead and wounded lay everywhere, as it was too dangerous to evacuate them. The deep mire obstructed every attempt to relocate equipment and anyone who fell into a shell hole disappeared into the stinking mud. Snipers and artillery spotters punished every move.
On 6 April the Germans launched a counteroffensive. In shelling that lasted for several hours, they cleared the Canadians out of the craters. The terrain gained was lost once more. In the days after the Battle, the 7th Battalion rotated in and out the frontline, where they were subjected to desultory bombardments.
Frederick was killed in action on 14 April 1916. The 45-year-old was believed to be buried Transport Farm, near Zillebeke Lake. After the War, Frederick’s remains weren’t identified and he is remembered on the Menin Gate Memorial.
Frederick made the local news in 1906. As a member of the Rocky Mountain Rangers militia, he assisted in the capture of the Bill Miner gang. On 12 May 1906 Bill Miner, a notorious American train robber held up a Canadian Pacific Railway passenger train just east of Kamloops with “Shorty” Dunn and Lewis Colquhoun. Frederick received $500 for his help in arresting the gang. In 1915 Frederick enlisted in the army. He was taken on by the 7th Battalion (1st British Columbia).
At St. Eloi, to the south of Ypres, stands The Mound, a spoil heap left behind by a brickworks. The hillock was in German hands and a thorn in the side of the British high command. On 27 March 1916, six deep mines reduced The Mound to a series of craters.
After a week of bloody fighting, the craters were in British hands. In early April Canadian troops relieved the British. The positions were rudimentary, the trenches shallow and flooded. The dead and wounded lay everywhere, as it was too dangerous to evacuate them. The deep mire obstructed every attempt to relocate equipment and anyone who fell into a shell hole disappeared into the stinking mud. Snipers and artillery spotters punished every move.
On 6 April the Germans launched a counteroffensive. In shelling that lasted for several hours, they cleared the Canadians out of the craters. The terrain gained was lost once more. In the days after the Battle, the 7th Battalion rotated in and out the frontline, where they were subjected to desultory bombardments.
Frederick was killed in action on 14 April 1916. The 45-year-old was believed to be buried Transport Farm, near Zillebeke Lake. After the War, Frederick’s remains weren’t identified and he is remembered on the Menin Gate Memorial.
Sources 7
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"The Chase, Capture and the Commital” (Kamloops, The Kamloops Standard, 19/05/1906). Sources used |
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Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881 (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), RG11). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
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Jaimie Fedorak, Archivist Kamloops Museum & Archives, personal communication, 11 January 2023. 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 4930 - 35). https://library-archives.canada.ca/ Sources used |
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War diaries: 7th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (LAC), RG9-III-D-3, Volume number: 4917, Microfilm reel number: T-10709, File number: 365). 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: 162). https://library-archives.canada.ca/ Sources used |
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War Graves Registry: Commonwealth War Graves (Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (LAC): RG150, 1992-1993/314, Box 39-244; Box: 54). 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/922720 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=d725edfc-cd6d-411c-ba66-2c9d2afd6165 |
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The Canadian Virtual War Memorial https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/922720 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/5508365 |