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Jun 11, 1897
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Born in Billings Bridge,
Ontario to Thomas and Phoebe Magdalene (nee Evans) Richards
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Jun 9, 1916
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Attested into the 207th
Battalion CEF in Ottawa, Ontario
Ø Number 246468
Ø Next of kin given
as Mr. Thomas Richards, father, Billings Bridge, Ontario
Ø Previous occupation
given as Student
Ø No previous
military experience given
Ø Religion given as
Holiness Movement
The battalion trained in the
Rockcliffe Camp, Ottawa, Ontario
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Jan 18, 1917
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The battalion left Ottawa and
proceeded to Amherst, Nova Scotia to continue training
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Jun 2, 1917
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Embarked the SS Olympic in
Halifax, Nova Scotia
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Jun 9, 1917
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Disembarked in Liverpool,
England and proceeded to Seaford where the battalion was absorbed into the 7th
Reserve Battalion to continue training
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Sep 12, 1917
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Transferred to the 21st
Battalion
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Sep 13, 1917
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Arrived at the No. 2 CIBD
(Canadian Infantry Base Depot) in Etaples, France as part of a draft of 42
reinforcements from England and TOS (Taken On Strength) the 21st
Battalion
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Sep 27, 1917
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After leaving the base depot,
Private Richards joined the CC Rein C (Canadian Corps Reinforcement Camp) in
Villers au Bois
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Oct 18, 1917
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After leaving the
reinforcement camp he joined the 21st Battalion in billets in
Ourton, France
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Nov 3, 1917
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The battalion had moved into
the Passchendaele front near Crest Farm overnight November 2-3. The battalion came under attack almost
immediately and very heavy fighting ensued.
During this German attack, Private Richards was killed in action and
was given a burial in a nearby field.
When the war ended, his identifiable remains could not be located and
his name was listed on the walls of the Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium for those
killed during the war in Belgium with no known grave.
Following the war the British
War Medal, Victory Medal and Memorial Cross were sent to his mother, Mrs.
Phoebe Richards, Billing’s Bridge, Ontario
The Plaque (Dead Man’s Penny)
and Scroll were sent to his father, Thomas Richards, at the same address
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According
to the map coordinates recorded in his file (28.D.6.c.80.35),
his original burial location was just off Grenadiersstratt, Zonnebeke, Belgium.
This area is now a built up residential district, but he would have been
buried in the area between the 2 houses shown below
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