Ashburne, Richard John

Richard John Ashburne was born on 28 August 1889 in Chickenly West Yorkshire, United Kingdom, to John, a police constable, and Elizabeth Ashburne. Richard had two older sisters and a younger brother. It seems that his parents died early in his life. Richard was sent to Canada, alone, at the age of 14, arriving in Halifax in June 1903 on the SS Siberian, whence he made his way to the farm of Alfred Slipp in New Brunswick on the Saint John River halfway between Saint John and Fredericton. There he boarded with the Slipp family, working as a farm hand. At the start of the war, Richard made his way to Saint John to join the Canadian Field Artillery (CFA) (2nd Division Ammunition Column) on 14 December 1914.

The unit shipped out to the United Kingdom aboard SS Caledonia on 13 June 1915 for initial training, and proceeded to France on 16 September 1915. By March 1916, the 2nd Division was operating on the Belgian border near the French town of Berthen. Driver Ashburne appears to have been transferred to the 7th Brigade CFA about this time. The 7th was operating at Kemmel just across the border in Belgium. On 23 March the divisional artillery was given an order to prepare to engage in a retaliatory gun duel with German artillery at Wytschaete (near Ypres) including both field and heavy artillery units, with support from the 1st Division guns. The date was “to be named later” with provision for follow up activity. The shoot order was executed on 27 March and the ammunition train supplied about 14,000 rounds of ammunition on 27 and 28 March. The German artillery appears to have been quite active in response and while neither the Ammunition Column war diary nor the 7th CFA records list any casualties, Driver Ashburne sustained severe shrapnel wounds to his back about this time and died at the No. 8 Casualty Clearing Station on 31 March 1916. He was temporarily buried near Berthen in France. Post war, he was reburied at the Commonwealth War Grave at the Bailleuil Communal Cemetery Extension Plot 2 Row D Grave 237. He is listed on page 48 in the World War 1 Book of Remembrance in the House of Commons.