Nov 14, 1875
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Born in Yorkshire, England to
Simeon Verity and Jane Ann (nee Spink) Teale
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Nov 11, 1914
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Attested into the 21st
Battalion CEF in Kingston, Ontario
Ø Number 59961
(temporary number 126)
Ø Next of kin given
as Maud Teale, wife, Stone St., Gananoque, Ontario
Ø Previous occupation
given as Brickmaker
Ø Previous military
experience given as Yorkshire Light Infantry for 3 years
Ø Religion given as
Wesleyan
Ø Assigned to “A”
Company
The battalion trained in the
Kingston area through the winter with headquarters in the Kingston Armouries
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May 6, 1915
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Embarked the RMS Metagama in
Montreal, Quebec
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May 15, 1915
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Disembarked in Devonport,
England and the battalion proceeded to the West Sandling Camp, near Hythe,
Kent to continue training
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Sep 14, 1915
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Embarked the St. Seiriol in
Folkestone
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Sep 15, 1915
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Disembarked in Boulogne,
France and the battalion proceeded to St. Omer
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![](http://21stbattalion.ca/photostz/teale_a-kds-dec_8_1915.jpg)
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Jan 22, 1916
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Admitted to the No. 5 CFA
(Canadian Field Ambulance) with a gun shot wound to his left ear
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Jan 23, 1916
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Discharged to duty from the
field ambulance
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Apr 10, 1916
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During close combat with the
Germans at the St. Eloi Craters, Private Alfred Teale was severely wounded in
the abdomen and was evacuated to the No. 6 Canadian Field Ambulance where he
died of his wounds. He was later
buried in the Dickebusch British Military Cemetery.
Following the war, the 1914-15
Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal, Plaque (Dead Man’s Penny), Scroll and
Memorial Cross were sent to his widow, Mrs. CW Claflin, Chadron, Nebraska,
USA
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Mar 18, 1921
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His widow Maud was remarried
to an American from Chadron, Nebraska, USA, Charles William Claflin in
Kingston, Ontario
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Text below reproduced with permission
Taken from the
"Gananoque
Remembers (A tribute to the men who gave their lives for our freedom)"
by Geraldine Chase and Bill Beswetherick
Alfred Teale was born in England 14 November 1875, the son of
Simeon Verity and Jane Ann Teale. He married Maud Elizabeth and before the
war worked as a bricklayer. He enlisted 11 November 1914 at age 38 and served
in the 21st Battalion (Eastern Ontario Regiment.
Private Teale arrived in France in September 1915 and was
lightly wounded in February 1916. He soon returned to his unit in early April
in time to participate in the fighting in the huge craters at St Eloi south
of the Belgian city of Ypres. The fighting was confusing. Many huge and
interlocking craters were created when the British and Germans blew 31
underground mines and continuous shelling destroyed most trenches. Because of
confusion over their exact locations and the fact opposing units often
occupied the opposite sides of craters, many soldiers were killed by their
own artillery. In addition, because of the confusion over exact locations,
Canadian artillery often fired on positions not occupied by the enemy thus
depriving their infantry of support. Also much of the fighting was done at
night and often recovery of the wounded was not possible with the result many
drowned in the water-filled craters, some of which were up to 15 metres deep.
Private Teale was one of 14 men killed or wounded 1 April when the enemy
attacked his unit at night with artillery, grenades, and machine guns just
after they had entered their front-line trenches. He died of his wounds nine
days later at a nearby hospital.
Private Donald Fraser, 31st Battalion (Alberta Regiment) and
whose unit fought next to Private Teale's, recorded in his diary his
experiences during the confused fighting at St Eloi: "During these
trying days the enemy was raining shells continually; the trenches were in a,
quagmire and unconnected; communications were entirely broken down; there was
not such thing as a firing trench; the enemy gave us no peace to consolidate;
neither could materials be brought up; our men battered and weary had all
their work cut out to shelter themselves from the devastation that was
happening around. Casualties were heavy and the men so completely worn out
that reliefs were frequent and each change found the situation more obscure;
the whereabouts of the enemy unknown. Our own bearings in the air."
St Eloi was the battle in which Canadians first wore steel helmets.
Private Teale is commemorated on Page 172 of the First World War Book of Remembrance,
Peace Tower, Ottawa and is buried in DICKEBUSCH NEW military cemetery,
south-west of Ypres, Belgium. The Canadian maple leaf in engraved on the
headstones of five Gananoque men who are buried in cemeteries near the city.
Dedicated to the memory of a member of our congregation: Christ
Church (Anglican).
![](http://21stbattalion.ca/photosdg/gananoque-christ-church.jpg)
![](http://21stbattalion.ca/photostz/teale_a-christ-church-gan.jpg)
Alfred Teale is also honoured on the Gananoque, Ontario
War Memorial
![](http://21stbattalion.ca/photosdg/gananoque-mem-1.jpg)
![](http://21stbattalion.ca/photostz/teale_a-gananoque-mem.jpg)
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2010
![](http://21stbattalion.ca/vigil2010/ypres-vigil2010.jpg)
For
the 7 nights leading up to November 11, 2010, the names of all Canadian
soldiers who were killed during the war were projected onto the Belgian War
Memorial in Ypres. At the same time, the same names were being
broadcast via the internet to schools across Belgium and Canada. The
image above shows the opening ceremonies at the Belgian War Memorial on
November 4, 2010.
Below
is the name of Alfred Teale being broadcast to the schools. Each name
appeared for 25 seconds and each night 9,700 names were shown.
![](http://21stbattalion.ca/vigil2010/teale_a-vigil2010-3.jpg)
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