Gunner Walsh was the husband of Cora Walsh (nee
Hartley) of Milton and a local farmer. He previously served in
"C' Battery of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. Gunner
Walsh attested on November 1, 1915 to his regimental unit.
On
July 23, 1916 he joined the 4.5 Howitzer Battery in France and
was posted to the 12th Brigade Canadian Field Artillery (CFA) on
August 18, 1916. The ORBAT
(Order of Battle) shows the 12th Brigade C.F.A was formed in
June 1916 and disbanded in March 1917, serving with the 1st
Divisional Artillery.
Gunner Walsh was awarded the Military Medal on or about
August 19, 1916 and was killed in action on October 27, 1916.
The war diary shows the unit was near Pozières on October
27, 1916 in what was called the Battle of Ancre Heights, on
the Somme Battlefield. The objective was to take Regina Trench
north of Courcelette.
History reports on the inability of
the artillery to move and register their guns in time to support
the infantry attack. The 12th Brigade CFA was to be firing the
4.5 Howitzers on the Coulee Trench, as detailed in the daily
order. It was called "woefully light and
ineffective".
There are no details of the actual event that lead to the
death of Gunner Walsh.
