REEVES, Manson John

DIVISIONAL UNIT:         4th Canadian Infantry Division
                                             12th Infantry Brigade
                                             38th Battalion  -  Eastern Ontario
                                             “B” Company
                                             Canadian Infantry Corps
SERVICE NO:                   727547
RESIDENCE:                    Stratford - Ontario
DATE OF BIRTH:            October 31, 1894
                                             Seaforth – McKillop / Tuckersmith Townships – County of Huron – Ontario.
DATE OF DEATH:           November 10, 1917             23 years     
CEMETERY:                     Boulogne Eastern Cemetery – Boulogne-sur-Mer
                                             Pas de Calais – France
                                             VIII     I     110
WIFE:                                 Mrs. Nellie Miriam Reeves – Stratford - Ontario
FATHER:                           Mr. Gabriel Reeves – Stratford - Ontario
Occupation:                        Machinist                             Religion:      Church of England
Enlistment:                    February 16, 1916 - Stratford
Enlistment Age:                 21 years     3 months

Private Reeves boarded the SS Caronia in Halifax on October 31, 1916 and arrived in England on November 11, 1916. On December 31, 1916, he transfers to the 8th Reserve battalion in Shoreham. He transfers to the 38th Battalion and goes into France and arrives at Canadian Base Depot on June 27, 1917. He left and joined his unit in the field on July 3, 1917.
The battlefield conditions facing the Canadians were horrendous. At the base of the ridge there was no drainage as everthing that had been there had been destroyed by the artilleries of the Allied armies. That meant that the rain that fell had nowhere to go except down to the base nd here the battlefield was nothing but thick waist deep mud. The shell holes were full of water and the battlefuueld was strewn with the bodies of thousands of soldiers from previous attempts to take this position. The advancing infantry was heavily weighed down with their equipment and if they paused or slowed their advance the mud could very well suck them under.
The was the second step to take Passchendaele Ridge from the enemy. Now, on October 30, 1917 they would try a second time to achieve their objectives. At this point the 4th Division were positioned south of the ridge. The objectives were Vienna Cottages and Crest Farm. They were successful.
On October 30, 1917, Private Manson suffered serious shell wounds to his back, chest, legs and head during military operations at Passchendaele and was moved to No. 3 Australian Casualty Clearing Station - Brandhoek.
He was eventually taken to No. 83 General Hospital located at Boulogne, France where he died of his wounds.
The advance this day began at 5:40 am and all objectives were reached and being held. The losses in the reserve area were considerable and the position where “B” Company was in particular received severe shelling at the advance. The enemy artillery was active and intense the whole day.