Buchanan, George: Service no. 171047

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Digitized Service Record

Source: Lichfield Crater (C. B. 2A) post.

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CIVIC EMPLOYEE KILLED

Pte. George Buchanan, popularly known at “Poole” Buchanan, was killed on April 9, according to a cable received by his father, Mr. W. Buchanan, 85 Claremont street. Pte. Buchanan was 25 years of age. He enlisted in August 1915 with the 83rd Battalion and went overseas with a draft in September the same year and had served one year in the trenches. Prior to enlistment he was in the employ of the city in the Street Commissioner’s Department. He was one of three brothers serving.

Source: Undated newspaper clipping circa April 1917.

Summary of Service for Private John Buchanan, reg. no. 171047

Date	Event	Remarks
April 7, 1893	Born	Born Toronto, Ontario to Mr. William and Mrs. Margaret Buchanan.
August 7, 1915	Enlists	22-year old teamster George Buchanan enlisted at the armouries with the 83rd Battalion at Toronto, Ontario on this date. He listed his mother, Mrs. William Buchanan, as his next-of-kin and at the time of his enlistment he stood 5’8.75” tall and was listed as having a medium complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair. He weighed 130 pounds. He practiced Anglicism as he indicated he was a member of the Church of England. He had no prior military experience.
September 25, 1915	Sailed	Sailed to England from Montreal, Quebec aboard the SS Corsican.
October 5, 1915	Arrives in England
October 1915	Transferred	Transferred to 39th Battalion. No record of this in service file.
December 24, 1915	Admitted	Admitted to hospital, Shorncliffe, England. Probably Moore Barracks Hospital.
January 7, 1916	Transferred and Admitted	Transferred to 1st Northern General Hospital, Newcastle.
January 7, 1916	Discharged	Discharged from above.
January 20, 1916	Completed Will	Completed will.   “In the event of my death I give the whole of my property and effects to   Mrs. W. Buchanan 85 Claremont St. Toronto Ont Canada [signed] George Buchanan Private 171047 Jan 20th 1916
May 7, 1916	Transferred	Transferred to 18th Battalion.
May 8, 1916	Arrives	Arrives at the CBD, Etaples.
May 31, 1916	Proceeds to Join Unit
June 2, 1916	TOS	TOS in the field with the 18th Battalion.   The War Diary notes on that day:   “BEDFORD HOUSE   Position as of yesterday. CAPT. S.M. LOGHRIN admitted to hospital. 2 o.r.s admitted to hospital. 1 o.r. returned from hospital. 14 o.r.s arrived as reinforcement.”
April 9, 1917	Killed in Action	Killed in action during the attack on Vimy Ridge. He was serving with “B” Company. The Circumstances of Death Card relates:   ““Killed in Action.” He was instantly killed by enemy shell fire during the advance and capture of VIMY.”   A Burial Report relates:   “Buried at A.10.G.1.17. Sheet Thelus, N.W. (in Zivy Crater) Grave serial no. CB-1.   The War Diary relates of the action that day:   “At Zero hour, vis 5.30 a.m., the advance was made. Simultaneously with the opening up of the Artillery Barrage the Battalion left the “Jumping-off” trenches and attacked the German front lines. Very little opposition was met with whilst capturing the first line system of trenches. The enemy barraged “No-man’s-land” for about 15 minutes, after which his Artillery fire became very indiscriminate. The support line was captured without any difficulty and the Battalion Objective (black), a line of trench from A.11.1.70.31/2. To A.11.45.75., finally reached. At 6.05 a.m. a message was received at Bn. H.Q. saying that the Black Objective had been captured and was in the act of being consolidated.   The casualties up to this point had been very slight, considering the magnitude of the operations. Major C.C. Gwyn, on of the most popular and efficient of Officers was killed by a M.G. bullet, about 100 yards from the objective and Lieut. W.J. McLean was also killed while leading his men across “No-man’s-land”. After the death of Major Gwyn, Lieut. P. Jerdan[iv] assumed Command of “B” Company, and did splendid work in consolidation and reorganization, as also did Lieut. D.A.G. Parsons[v] who Commanded “A” Company.   An act of conspicuous gallantry[vi] performed by Sergt. E.E. Sifton of “C” Company. A M.G. was holding up his Company and doing considerable damage. Sergt. Sifton, single-handed, attacked the Gun crew and bayoneted every man, but was unhappily shot by a dying Boche.   At 10.50 a.m. a message was received from Major W.J. Gander, now senior Officer of the line reporting that the consolidation of the objective and reorganization of the Battalion was complete. Telephone communication from the Report Center, which was established in the PELSENKELLER WEG, to Bn. H.Q. and Brigade, was successfully maintained throughout. A tunnel with a 4’ gallery was dug beforehand, with an exit in the PHILIP CRATER, within 20 yards of the German front line, and telephone lines laid to this point before Zero [hour].   Lieut’s W.H. Lewis and V.M. Eastwood secured much valuable information, and established an advanced Bn. H.Q.’s at A.10.b.85.35.   Major K.H. McCrimmon finally established Bn. H.Q.;s at A.11.d.1.8. and performed most efficient work in handling all information and superintending the process of reorganization.   Several large straw-stacks were discovered just ahead of the Black Objective and were found to have been the means of hiding concrete M.G. emplacements. The night of 9/10th being spent in the Black Objective and funk-holes being the only shelter, the straw was a great help to the men in making their shelters comfortable. The approximate casualties for the whole operation were:- 2 Offices killed (already mentioned). Lieuts. W.G. Worth, S.C. Kirkland, C.E. Tuck, W.K. Rooney (Wounded). 40 O.R.’s killed and 120 wounded.[vii]   He is buried with 53 other soldiers. Of these men, 14 of them where members of the 18th Battalion and all of them died on the same day. He is buried in a common grave in the crater and is recognized on Panel 1. Column 3.
Circa Apil 1917	Toronto Telegram News Clipping	CIVIC EMPLOYEE KILLED   Pte. George Buchanan, popularly known at “Poole” Buchanan, was killed on April 9, according to a cable received by his father, Mr. W. Buchanan, 85 Claremont street. Pte. Buchanan was 25 years of age. He enlisted in August 1915 with the 83rd Battalion and went overseas with a draft in September the same year and had served one year in the trenches. Prior to enlistment he was in the employ of the city in the Street Commissioner’s Department. He was one of three brothers serving.   SOURCE: UNDATED NEWSPAPER CLIPPING CIRCA APRIL 1917.
May 1917	Assigned Pay	A note in May of 1917 for a special remittance of $100.00 to Mrs. William Buchanan of 85 Claremont Street, Toronto, Ontario was made. This is an unusual entry and may have indicated that a previous record of his instructions for assigning pay to his mother was missed and the payment was for approximately 5-months of his overseas service.
May 23, 1921	Despatched	Death Scroll despatched to Mrs. Margaret E. Buchanan of 85 Claremont Street, Toronto, Ontario. Reqn. No. Z44636/
September 27, 1921	Despatched	Plaque despatched under Reqn. No. P8901 to William Buchanan, Esq. same address.
November 19, 1921	Despatched	Memorial (Silver) Cross despatched to Mrs. Buchanan. Reqn. no C 31816.
Note on Medal Card	Eligible	Eligible for the Victory and British War Medal.

Acronyms

AWL	Absent Without Leave: Generally, a soldier would be deducted 1-days pay for every day absent. In some cases, the soldier would be confined to barracks. Sometimes it was a combination of both.
A Classification	Medical Board Classification that determined your fitness for duty. A1, A2, A3 and A4 were assigned to different units with the expectation that these men would be able to serve with active combat units. See this link for more information.
B Classification	Medical Board Classification that determined your fitness for duty. B1, B2, and B3 were assigned to different service units such as railway and forestry corps. See this link for more information.
D Classification	See this link for more information.
CAMC	Canadian Army Medical Corp
CB	Confined to Barracks: a punishment for minor infractions.
CCD	Casualty Convalescent Depot: a depot at a base where men, in their final stages of convalescing, would be prepared for duty depending on their rating.
CCH	Casualty Clearing Hospital
CCRC	Canadian Corps Reserve Camp
CCS	Casualty Clearing Station: this facility was attached to rail transportation from the front to hospitals on the coast of France
CDC	Canadian Dispatch Camp
CFA	Canadian Field Ambulance/Canadian Field Artillery. Most common usage would be Canadian Field Ambulance.
DAH	Disorderly Action of the Heart
DRS	Divisional Rest Station
GSW	Gun Shot Wound – this was a generic term for all projectile penetrating wounds.
In the Field	This term relates to a soldier arriving at an active-duty unit after transporting from England, to France, and then to his duty assignment. The routing varied from soldier to soldier and could take 2-3 days to several months.
MD	Military District
PUO	Pyrexia of Unknown Origin: This was a term used for any illness that could not clearly be identified and typically was related to influenza symptoms.
SOS	Struck Off Strength
TOS	Taken On Strength
CAMC	Canadian Army Medical Corp
CCH	Casualty Clearing Hospital
CFA	Canadian Field Ambulance
DRS	Divisional Rest Station
GSW	Gun Shot Wound – this was a generic term for all projectile penetrating wounds.
MD	Military District
PUO	Pyrexia of Unknown Origin
SOS	Struck Off Strength
TOS	Taken On Strength
WORD	Western Ontario Regimental Depot