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Wartime Heritage
ASSOCIATION
Remembering World War I
Yarmouth Connections
Charles Lorne Purdy
Died: September 23, 1916
Regimental Number:
469371
Survived War:
No
Force:
Army
Regiment:
Canadian Infantry
Battalion:
64th Battalion/2nd Battalion
Regimental Number:
469371
Rank:
Private
Date of Birth:
December 30, 1896
Place of Birth:
Yarmouth, N.S.
Date of Enlistment:
August 28, 1915
Place of Enlistment:
Sussex, New Brunswick
Age at Enlistment:
19 years, 9 months
Height: 5 feet, 9 1/2 inches
Trade:
Moulder
Marital Status:
Single
Religion:
Baptist
Next of Kin:
(Mother) Grace Purdy, Yarmouth, N.S.
Charles Purdy was the son of Charles and Grace Purdy, Grove Rd., Yarmouth N.S. He enlisted with the 64th Battalion and served with That
Battalion in England. In France he served with the 2nd Battalion. He was wounded in action and died as he was being conveyed by ambulance to
hospital.
Private Purdy was a victim of a creeping barrage. British guns were to shell a certain area and the British were to occupy that area after the fire
of the guns lifted and the shells directed to the next line of German emplacements. On this occasion, due to faulty liaison, British guns continued to
shell an area moments earlier seized from the Germans.
Date of Death:
September 23, 1916
Cemetery:
Albert Communal Cemetery Extension,
France
Plot: I. O. 19.
Albert is a town 28 Kms north-east of Amiens. The town
was held by French forces against the German advance on the
Somme in September 1914. It passed into British hands in the
summer of 1915; and the first fighting in July 1916, is known as
the Battle of Albert, 1916. It was captured by the Germans on the
26th April 1918, and before its recapture by the 8th East Surreys
on the following 22nd August (in the Battle of Albert, 1918,) it
had been completely destroyed by artillery fire.
The Extension was used by fighting units and Field
Ambulances from August 1915 to November 1916, and more
particularly in and after September 1916, when Field Ambulances
were concentrated at Albert. From November 1916, the 5th
Casualty Clearing Station used it for two months. From March
1917, it was not used (except for four burials in March, 1918)
until the end of August 1918, when Plot II was made by the 18th
Division.
There are now 862 First World War casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, 12 First World War casualties are unidentified. Five graves,
destroyed by shellfire, are now represented by special memorials. Two soldiers known to be among the casualties buried here, but whose graves could
not be identified, are commemorated by special memorials, inscribed, "Known to be buried in this cemetery".
Commemorated on Page 151 of the First World War Book of Remembrance
Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on April 7
Sources:
Library and Archives Canada (Attestation Paper)
Commonwealth War Grave Commission
Commonwealth War Grave Commission (Cemetery Information)
Canadian Great War Project
Veterans Affairs Canada
Additional Information:
“A Monument Speaks” A Thurston; 1989 (p 278)
Private Charles Purdy
Attestation Paper
(click to enlarge)