Pte
Robert Roy McKibben

Informatie over geboorte

Geboortedatum:
25/09/1897
Geboorteplaats:
Perham, Minnesota, Verenigde Staten van Amerika

Algemene Informatie

Beroep:
Arbeider

Informatie legerdienst

Land:
Canada
Strijdmacht:
Canadian Expeditionary Force
Rang:
Private
Service nummer:
781446
Dienstneming datum:
15/12/1915
Dienstneming plaats:
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
Eenheden:
 —  Canadian Infantry, 28th Bn. (North West)  (Laatst gekende eenheid)

Informatie over overlijden

Datum van overlijden:
07/11/1917
Plaats van overlijden:
No. 44 Casualty Clearing Station, Nine Elms, Poperinge, Belgiƫ
Doodsoorzaak:
Died of wounds (D.O.W.)
Leeftijd:
20

Begraafplaats

Nine Elms British Cemetery
Plot: VIII
Rij: C
Graf: 7

Onderscheidingen en medailles 2

British War Medal
Medaille
Victory Medal
Medaille

Points of interest 3

#1 Geboorteplaats
#2 Dienstneming plaats
#3 Plaats van overlijden (bij benadering)

Mijn verhaal

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.

Bestanden 1

Bronnen 4

Dewitt G.E., The Story of the Twenty-Eight (Northwest) Battalion, 1914-1917, (London, Charles & Son, s.d)., pg. 22-24.
Gebruikte bronnen
McCarthy C., Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Uniform, 2018), pg. 160-161.
Gebruikte bronnen
Personnel Records of the First World War (Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (LAC) RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 6991 - 2).
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/search.aspx
Gebruikte bronnen
War diaries: 28th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (LAC), RG9-III-D-3, Volume number: 4935, Microfilm reel number: T-10739--T-10740, File number: 425
https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng
Gebruikte bronnen