Private
Evans, Harry Walter
Unit
75th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Mississauga)
Branch
Infantry
Service Component
Canadian Expeditionary Force
Service Number
163322
birth
1897/08/12
Ramsgate, Kent, United Kingdom, England
death
1918/09/30
France
grave
Cantimpre Canadian Cemetery (formerly known as Marcoing Line British Cemetery), Sailly, France
Gender
Male
Harry Walter Evans was born in Ramsgate, Kent, England, on 12 August 1897. It is currently not known when he immigrated to Canada.
A farmer, Evans enlisted in the 84th Canadian Infantry Battalion in Toronto, Ontario, on 4 August 1915. After initial training in Canada, he sailed to England with his unit on 18 June 1916, arriving on 29 June 1916. Less than a month later, Evans was transferred to the 75th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Mississauga). On 11 August 1916, he was shipped to France.
Evans was killed in action north of Cambrai, France, on 30 September 1918, as the 11th Brigade, of which the 75th Battalion was a part, attempted to capture canal crossings at Eswars during the Canadians’ attack on Cambrai. Brigadier Victor Oldum, commander of the 11th Brigade, described its actions as “the hardest … in which the brigade was ever engaged.” Based on “false assumptions” about enemy morale and lacking sufficient artillery support, the operation failed and resulted in heavy casualties.
Harry Walter Evans is buried in Cantimpre Canadian Cemetery (formerly known as Marcoing Line British Cemetery), Sailly, France.
