Elsley, Harley Clifton

SOLDIER DETAILS:

Elsley, Harley Clifton
Private, Canadian Army Medical Corps #523897
June 27, 1918
Halifax Memorial
Born in Nassagaweya (Milton), Ontario
Maple Leaf Legacy Project

Halifax Memorial CWGC

The Halifax Memorial
Maple Leaf Legacy Project

Sinking of the Llandovery Castle and Life Boats

Private Elsley was "Lost at Sea" and is commemorated on the Halifax Memorial, Nova Scotia.

The Halifax Memorial commemorates the men and women lost at sea who have no know place of burial. You will find Private Elsley listed on the right side of the list about 1/3 of the way down. Click on the image to see the larger scale where his name is clearly visible.

Other Links:

	CEFSG Matrix Unit Information
	Library and Archives Canada
	Sinking of the Llandovery Castle

SOLDIER SUMMARY:

Private Harley Clifton Elsley was born in Nassagaweya (Milton), Ontario. He attested to the #1 Field Ambulance Depot of the Canadian Army Medical Corps on March 23, 1916. His service records show he was taken on strength to the 16th Canadian Field Ambulance in April 1917 and then transferred to the Hospital Ship "Llandovery Castle" in April 1918.

Private Elsley will not be known for what he did in the years serving in the CAMC in France or Flanders, but rather for the fact that he was one of the 89 members of the CAMC who lost their lives (along with many others) when the hospital ship was torpedoed by a German Submarine, contrary to Military Law. The ship was returning from Canada to England, so luckily no wounded were on board. After the torpedo attack it is reported that the submarine sank the life boats with the survivors, including many nurses.

The German Submarine officers were tried and convicted for war crimes, however the officers mysteriously escaped.

The soldier pages contain information that is available from a number of resources. The following hyperlinks are active where the information is available:

	Soldier Name: Veteran Affairs Canada, Canadian Virtual War Memorial
	Soldier Number: Library and Archives Canada, Attestation Papers
	Cemetery: Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Debt of Honour Register
	Remembrance: Maple Leaf Legacy Project, Remembrance of Canada's War Dead

The summary of the service is taken from the soldier's service records, if they were available from Library and Archives Canada. A complete copy of the service record is available in electronic and paper format in the Alex Cooke Memorial Archives at the Milton Historical Society. Using that summary, combined with the key references, a summary of the events leading up to the death of the soldier has been prepared. The research information available is as noted on the Canadian Expeditionary Force Study Group web site Matrix Project as well as in the Library and Archives Canada On-Line War Diaries.

A summary of all the soldiers is contained on the Web Blog "Great War Soldiers of Milton, Ontario CANADA". Please also be sure to purchase your own copy of "Milton Remembers World War I - The Men and Women We Never Knew" by John Challinor II and Jim Dills, edited by Ken Lamb.