Hampson, Harry

SOLDIER DETAILS:

Hampson, Harry
Private 54th Battalion 126452
March 13, 1917
Menin Gate Memorial
Unknown Link to Milton ON
Maple Leaf Legacy Project

Menin Gate Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves

Menin Gate Inscription
Thanks to Sabine

Virtual War Memorial
Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Private Harry Hampson is one of thousands of Canadian Soldiers that has no known grave. He is memorialized at the Menin Gate Memorial (Panel 18 - 24 - 26 - 30).

Private Hampson is not noted on the Haltonville or Victoria Park Cenotaph but his is reported on the Virtual War Memorial, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa Ontario.

Other Links:

	CEFSG Matrix Unit Information 54th Infantry Battalion
	Library and Archives Canada War Diary of September 1916
	Nicholson Matrix Chapter VI (see page 188 in particular)

SOLDIER SUMMARY:

Private Hampson originally attested to the 71st Battalion on September 13, 1915. He was a 30 year old Butcher from Eden Mills (Guelph Milton Border). He was transferred to the 54th Battalion on May 28, 1916 (11th Infantry Brigade, 4th Division).

He arrived in England aboard the Olympic in April 1916. The unit was subsequently broken up and absorbed by the 51st Battalion, which itself was broken up to feed reserve units. His records show that he was then taken-on-strength to the 54th Battalion on May 2, 1916.

Private Hampson was reported missing and later reported to have been killed in action on September 17th, 1916. During the period from July to November 1916, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force were fighting for it's life in the "Battle of the Somme", a battle initiated to relieve pressure on the French Army fighting at Verdun. Meanwhile, the newly formed 4th Canadian Division (of which the 54th Battalion was part) arrived on the line on August 25, 1916. The 4th Division remained in the Ypres Salient, as part of the international "Frank's Force" to provide a diversion to the fighting in the south at Flers-Courcelette. The 54th Battalion was one of 6 Canadian units that carried out 7 raids on the night of September 16th-17th. when Private Hampson met his fate.

The War Diary of the 16th & 17th at Micmac Camp tells of the raid on Crater No. 2. By the end of the raid 4 Lieutenants and 21 other ranks were missing and 1 Lieutenant and 7 others were reported killed in action. Searches for the missing continued on the 16th and 17th without success. Private Hampson was one of the 21 who were lost and never found.

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.