Pte
Hibbert James Swim
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 30/05/1897 |
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Place of birth: Clark’s Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada |
General information
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Profession: Fireman (steam engine) |
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Religion: Baptist |
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: 283442 |
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Enlistment date: 15/04/1916 |
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Enlistment place: Clark’s Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada |
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Units: — Canadian Infantry, 85th Bn. (Nova Scotia Highlanders) (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 07/11/1917 |
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Place of death: Lijssenthoek, Remy Siding, No. 2 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Died of wounds (D.O.W.) |
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Age: 20 |
Cemetery
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Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery Plot: XXII Row: G Grave: 19 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 4
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | Place of wounding | ||
| #4 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Hibbert James Swim was born on 30 May 1897 in Clarkes Harbour, Schelburne in Nova Scotia, Canada and lived there with his parents and eight sisters, according to the 1911 census. He earned his living as a stoker. When he was almost 19, he enlisted in the Canadian Army on 15 April 1916 and 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.
He left Halifax on 12 October 1916 to arrive in Liverpool on the 18th. On 17 March 1917, he landed at Le Havre, France. On 22 August 1917, he was wounded at Lens, but was able to rejoin his unit on 11 October. On 28 October, the 4th Canadian Division left the camp near Ypres. They moved to Seine Corner, at the front, where they relieved the 44th Battalion at Keerselaarhoek, between Tyne Cot and Passchendaele. The 29th October the men spent in shell holes and narrow trenches, preparing for the next day's attack.
On 30 October 1917, the Canadians resumed the attack on Passchendaele. The 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders) followed the Ypres-Roulers railway towards Vienna Cottages. Before the war, a collection of cottages nestled against the railway. The hamlet had been reduced to a string of shell holes. The Nova Scotia Highlanders got the brunt of it. The guns covering the attack sank into the mud and could barely provide support. Once the Highlanders broke free from the mire they immediately came under heavy fire. But unstoppable was the storm ahead. In exchange for the stinking pits at Vienna Cottages, half the Highlanders were killed, missing or wounded. Even before their return to Canada, the 85th Battalion placed a memorial column at what had roughly been their departure position.
Hibbert James Swim died on 7 November 1917, aged 20, at the Casual Clearing Station at Lijssenthoek near Poperinge. He was buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, in Plot XXII, Row G, Grave 19.
He left Halifax on 12 October 1916 to arrive in Liverpool on the 18th. On 17 March 1917, he landed at Le Havre, France. On 22 August 1917, he was wounded at Lens, but was able to rejoin his unit on 11 October. On 28 October, the 4th Canadian Division left the camp near Ypres. They moved to Seine Corner, at the front, where they relieved the 44th Battalion at Keerselaarhoek, between Tyne Cot and Passchendaele. The 29th October the men spent in shell holes and narrow trenches, preparing for the next day's attack.
On 30 October 1917, the Canadians resumed the attack on Passchendaele. The 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders) followed the Ypres-Roulers railway towards Vienna Cottages. Before the war, a collection of cottages nestled against the railway. The hamlet had been reduced to a string of shell holes. The Nova Scotia Highlanders got the brunt of it. The guns covering the attack sank into the mud and could barely provide support. Once the Highlanders broke free from the mire they immediately came under heavy fire. But unstoppable was the storm ahead. In exchange for the stinking pits at Vienna Cottages, half the Highlanders were killed, missing or wounded. Even before their return to Canada, the 85th Battalion placed a memorial column at what had roughly been their departure position.
Hibbert James Swim died on 7 November 1917, aged 20, at the Casual Clearing Station at Lijssenthoek near Poperinge. He was buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, in Plot XXII, Row G, Grave 19.
Sources 5
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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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Hayes J., The Eighty-Fifth in France and Flanders, (Halifax, Royal Print & Litho Limited, 1922), 90-96. Sources used |
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McCarthy Chris., Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account (London, Unicorn Publishing Group, 2018) 153. Sources used |
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Personnel Records of the First World War (Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (LAC), RG 150, Volume: Box 9467 - 30). https://library-archives.canada.ca Sources used |
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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). 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/432922 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/5737567 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=c9f0b4c7-101e-44fd-a4f3-73a77b340294 |
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The Canadian Virtual War Memorial https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/432922 |