Pte
Robert Roy McKibben

Informations sur naissance

Date de naissance:
25/09/1897
Lieu de naissance:
Perham, Minnesota, États-Unis d'Amérique

Informations générales

Profession:
Ouvrier

Informations service militaire

Pays:
Canada
Force armée:
British Expeditionary Force
Rang:
Private
Numéro de service:
781446
Incorporation date:
15/12/1915
Incorporation nom de lieu:
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
Unités:
 —  Canadian Infantry, 28th Bn. (North West)  (Dernière unité connue)

Informations sur décès

Date de décès:
07/11/1917
Lieu de décès:
No. 44 Casualty Clearing Station, Nine Elms, Poperinge, Belgique
Cause du décès:
Died of wounds (D.O.W.)
Âge:
20

Cimetière

Nine Elms British Cemetery
Parcelle: VIII
Rangée: C
Tombe: 7

Distinctions et médailles 2

British War Medal
Médaille
Victory Medal
Médaille

Points d'intérêt 3

#1 Lieu de naissance
#2 Lieu d'enrôlement
#3 Lieu du décès (approximatif)

Mon histoire

Private Robert Roy McKibben served in the Canadian Infantry 28th Battalion, which was part of the 6th Brigade of the 2nd Canadian Division. On 6 November 1917 the 27th, 31st and 28th Battalion of the 6th Brigade, together with the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Canadian Division, attacked the village of Passchendaele. This attack was part of the Second Battle of Passchendaele, the final stage of the Third Battle of Ypres.

At 6.00 a.m. the allied artillery opened up an incredibly heavy artillery barrage on the crest of the Passchendaele Ridge. The attack was accompanied with an enormous amount of shellfire on both sides, but the swampy nature of the ground made a lot of shells to misfire. The Germans defended the Passchendaele ridge with machinegun fire from pill-boxes, situated at strategic points, like crossroads and ruined farms. The German main line of defence ran along the Passchendaele-Mosselmarkt Road. This line however lacked the protection of concrete dug-outs and many Germans were killed due to the allied barrage, others were quickly seen fleeing from the line, but the concrete pill-boxes still remained a threat. Notwithstanding the heavy machine gun fire the advancing troops pressed on, outflanking and clearing the pill-boxes.

By 7.40 a.m. all Companies had reached their objectives. Consolidation was completed shortly after 10.00 a.m. The Battalion suffered 35 casualties during the attack itself. However once the men occupied the hillcrest the Germans put down a heavy barrage on the Canadians. On top of this the Canadian troops were frequently strafed by German aeroplanes. Parties of stretcher bearers encountered great difficulties in evacuating the wounded, due to the shelling and the ghastly state of the ground.

Private Robert Roy McKibben was gravely injured during the attack of 6 November 1917. He sustained shrapnel wounds to his abdomen and was evacuated to No. 44 Casualty Clearing Station, at Nine Elms in the town of Poperinge. He succumbed to his wounds on the following day and was buried at the adjacent Nine Elms British Cemetery.

Fichiers 1

Sources 7

"Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account", McCarthy C., London, Uniform, 2018, pg. 160-161.
Sources utilisées
"The Story of the Twenty-Eight (Northwest) Battalion, 1914-1917", Dewitt G.E., London, Charles & Son, s.d., pg. 22-24.
Sources utilisées
Ancestry
http://home.ancestry.co.uk/
Autre référence
CWGC
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/137083/mckibben,-robert-roy/
Sources utilisées
Service Records
http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=160721
Sources utilisées
The Long Long Trail
http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/
Sources utilisées
War Diary Canadian Infantry 28th Bn.
https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/archivianet/02015202_e.html
Sources utilisées