Pte
George Dusome
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 16/07/1899 |
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Place of birth: Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada |
General information
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Profession: Labourer |
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Religion: Roman Catholic |
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: 644704 |
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Enlistment place: Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada |
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Units: — Canadian Infantry, 4th Bn. (Central Ontario) (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 07/11/1917 |
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Place of death: Van Meulen, 's Graventafel, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 18 |
Memorial
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Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial Panel: 18G |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | ‘Place of death’ |
My story
On November 6th 1917, the 4th Battalion (Central Ontario) participated in the attack on Passchendaele. A day later they are relieved under the cover of darkness.
The men shuffled in silence along narrow plank roads to the rear. It was difficult for them to pass each other. The men jostled along the narrow paths, which regularly came under fire. It was chaos. Anyone who fell off the path was unlikely to get back onto it, since the men lacked the strength to pull themselves out of the sucking mud. Dulled by exhaustion and the constant presence of death, their comrades were apathetic as they watched men drown. Just one thought dominated: get away from here.
One of the young men who disappeared into the mud was George Dusome of Penetanguishene, Ontario, who had only recently turned eighteen. He had lied about his age so that he could join up. At ’s Gravenstafel he fell out of the line. George, a Métis descendant, from mixed European and Indigenous ancestry, was never seen again.
The men shuffled in silence along narrow plank roads to the rear. It was difficult for them to pass each other. The men jostled along the narrow paths, which regularly came under fire. It was chaos. Anyone who fell off the path was unlikely to get back onto it, since the men lacked the strength to pull themselves out of the sucking mud. Dulled by exhaustion and the constant presence of death, their comrades were apathetic as they watched men drown. Just one thought dominated: get away from here.
One of the young men who disappeared into the mud was George Dusome of Penetanguishene, Ontario, who had only recently turned eighteen. He had lied about his age so that he could join up. At ’s Gravenstafel he fell out of the line. George, a Métis descendant, from mixed European and Indigenous ancestry, was never seen again.
Sources 5
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McCarthy, Chris. Passchendaele: the Day-by-Day Account. (Londen: Unicorn Publishing Group, 2018), 137-139. 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 2779 - 21). https://library-archives.canada.ca/ Sources used |
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War diaries: 4th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (LAC), RG9-III-D-3, Volume number: 4915, Microfilm reel number: T-10707, File number: 360). 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: 174). 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: 65). 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/1591928 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=95846c9b-7e9d-4a3a-bdd3-a02897a3fb7c |
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The Canadian Virtual War Memorial https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/1591928 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/5849356 |