Private Harrop was the son of Edwin Harrop of
Milton West, Ontario. Prior to attestation on November 1, 1915
he had served in the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (RCHA). His
regimental number places him in Military District #3, Royal
Canadian Horse Artillery - Regimental Depot.
Serving as
a "Gunner". He was killed in action in France while
serving with the 11th Battery, 3rd Brigade of the Canadian Field
Artillery on
October 28, 1917.
As a member of the Field Artillery it is more difficult to track his
service record, although we do know that at that time the
Canadian's were in a fierce fire-fight in Passchendaele, Belgium
.... historically known as the "Slaughter in the Mud".
In late October the 3rd CFA was at Frezenburg, Belgium. The main
CFA records show that the Canadian's were attacking the Bellevue
spur at this time and as Nicholson reports (page 320) the
Canadians suffered 2,481 casualties, including 585 killed, 965
wounded and 8 taken prisoner. The 3rd
CFA was attacking Passchendaele and reports show their
location was shelled heavily all day.
The War Diary of the 3rd Canadian Field Artillery tells of the
action on that frightful day. It is not common, but in
this case Private
Cedric Harrop is mentioned by name that day as one of the four (4)
regulars killed in action.
War Diary Extract Mentioning the Death of
Private Cedric Harrop
Click on image to enlarge.
