Pte
Nicholas Lewis De Lorey
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 08/08/1881 |
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Place of birth: Tracadie, Antigonish County, Nova Scotia, Canada |
General information
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Profession: Labourer |
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Religion: Not stated |
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: 69200 |
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Enlistment date: 25/11/1914 |
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Enlistment place: Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada |
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Units: — Canadian Infantry, 26th Bn. (New Brunswick) (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 17/06/1916 |
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Place of death: Sanctuary Wood, Zillebeke, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 34 |
Memorial
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Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial Panel: Panel 26 - 28. |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Nicholas De Lorey was born in 1881 at Tracadie a small community in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia. At the age of twenty he married Catherine Elizabeth Swift. They had two children, a daughter and a son. Catherine died in 1905. Nicholas remarried in 1906 with Catherine Estella Coakley, with whom he had four children, three boys and a girl.
In November 1914, at the age of 33, Nicholas enlisted at Saint John, New Brunswick. He was taken on by the 26th Battalion (New Brunswick). In late May 1916, the Canadian Corps occupied the heights near Zillebeke. Its front line ran from the hamlet of Hooge over Hill 62 and Mount Sorrel to the foot of Hill 60. The positions between Mount Sorrel and Hill 62 are the only places at Ypres where the Allies held higher ground than the Germans. It was here that the latter planned a large-scale attack.
In the morning of 2 June 1916 the Canadian positions were demolished by shelling and in the afternoon the Germans exploded four mines.
Opposite the Canadians were troops of the Kingdom of Württemberg. The Württembergers overran the high ground and on 6 June they once again detonated four mines. Hooge, less than an hour’s walk from the Menin Gate, was taken without significant resistance.
At British HQ alarm bells rang. Ypres was on the point of falling. Additional artillery was sent to Flanders with great haste and suddenly the roles were reversed. After heavy shelling, the Canadians recaptured the strategically important high ground on 13 June 1916.
Nicholas was killed in action on 17 June 1916, while manning the newly captured trenches at Observatory Ridge, Zillebeke. He was buried on Observatory Ridge, along with six comrades of his Battalion and one Private of the 42nd Battalion (Royal Highlanders). Their remains were never identified and Nicholas is remembered on the Menin Gate.
In November 1914, at the age of 33, Nicholas enlisted at Saint John, New Brunswick. He was taken on by the 26th Battalion (New Brunswick). In late May 1916, the Canadian Corps occupied the heights near Zillebeke. Its front line ran from the hamlet of Hooge over Hill 62 and Mount Sorrel to the foot of Hill 60. The positions between Mount Sorrel and Hill 62 are the only places at Ypres where the Allies held higher ground than the Germans. It was here that the latter planned a large-scale attack.
In the morning of 2 June 1916 the Canadian positions were demolished by shelling and in the afternoon the Germans exploded four mines.
Opposite the Canadians were troops of the Kingdom of Württemberg. The Württembergers overran the high ground and on 6 June they once again detonated four mines. Hooge, less than an hour’s walk from the Menin Gate, was taken without significant resistance.
At British HQ alarm bells rang. Ypres was on the point of falling. Additional artillery was sent to Flanders with great haste and suddenly the roles were reversed. After heavy shelling, the Canadians recaptured the strategically important high ground on 13 June 1916.
Nicholas was killed in action on 17 June 1916, while manning the newly captured trenches at Observatory Ridge, Zillebeke. He was buried on Observatory Ridge, along with six comrades of his Battalion and one Private of the 42nd Battalion (Royal Highlanders). Their remains were never identified and Nicholas is remembered on the Menin Gate.
Sources 5
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Antigonish Cenotaph Project https://antigonishcenotaphproject.wordpress.com/ Sources used |
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Census of Canada, 1911 ( Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (LAC), RG31-C-1). https://library-archives.canada.ca/ 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 Graves Registers: Circumstances of Death (Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (LAC), RG 150, 1992-93/314; Volume Number: 171). 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: 62). 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/1591703 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=e99d1f4f-dd14-47c8-93bd-a73986df99c1 |
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The Canadian Virtual War Memorial https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/1591703 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/5824822 |