Personal Details | |
Date of Birth | February 27, 1881 |
Place of Birth | Kenora, Ontario |
Country | Canada |
Marital Status | Married |
Next of Kin | George Slater (father), Tyndall, Manitoba |
Trade / Calling | Teamster |
Religion | Church of England |
Service Details | |
Regimental Number | 234910 |
Service Record | Link to Service Record |
Battalion | 8th Battalion |
Force | Canadian Expeditionary Force |
Branch | Canadian Infantry |
Enlisted / Conscripted | Enlisted |
Place of Enlistment | Winnipeg, Manitoba |
Address at Enlistment | 450 Henry Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba |
Date of Enlistment | May 4, 1916 |
Age at Enlistment | 35 |
Theatre of Service | Europe |
Prisoner of War | No |
Survived War | No |
Death Details | |
Date of Death | August 5, 1917 |
Age at Death | 36 |
Buried At | Bully-Grenay Communal Cemetery, British Extension, France |
Plot | IV. D. 5. |
Private Henry Carl Slater, usually known as Carl, was the son of George Peter Slater and Ruth Maria Rasmussen. He was born on 27 February 1881 and he had at least three brothers and three sisters: Alfred James, Angelique, Rupert, John Stanley, Jemima Irene and Rita Eileen. His parents farmed in the Tyndall/St. Clements area in Manitoba.
Carl was married on 11 October 1904 in Winnipeg. His wife, Annabella ‘Bella’ Norquay, was born in 1887 in Tyndall, the daughter of Thomas and Mary Jane Norquay. Carl and his wife had one daughter, Gladys Pearl, born on 6 January 1908. Sadly, Gladys died on 1 June 1912, at age four. The war started two years later and Carl enlisted on 4 May 1916 in Winnipeg. He was married, living in Winnipeg, his occupation was teamster and next of kin was his father in Tyndall. Carl’s place of birth was listed as Kenora, Ontario on his attestation paper but census records place his birth in Manitoba.
Carl signed up with the 203rd Battalion and his unit trained at Camp Hughes during the summer. His father passed away in Tyndall on 5 October 1916, at age 52. Not long after that the 203rd Battalion left for the east coast. The troops embarked from Halifax on the SS Grampian on 26 October and arrived in Liverpool about ten days later. On 12 January 1917 Carl was transferred to the 18th Reserve Battalion. After training with them for three months he was drafted to a front line unit, the 8th Battalion, and sent to France. He arrived there on 21 April and joined his new unit in the field in early May.
The Canadians had captured Vimy Ridge in April and that spring and summer they took part in several smaller operations in the Vimy-Arras area. By late July plans were in place for the assault on Hill 70 and the 8th Battalion moved to Les Bresbis, northwest of Lens.
From the war diary for the 8th Battalion, 5 August 1917: Weather: raining again. Battn. Church Parade was held on an open place in the outskirts of the town. The Bosche shelled the part of the town where the Battalion was billeted, 3 of our men being killed, and 7 wounded.
Carl was one of the men killed that day. He is buried in the Bully-Grenay Communal Cemetery, British Extension. After the war his memorial plaque and memorial cross were sent to his mother Ruth, who was living in Winnipeg. She also received his Victory and British War medals. Ruth passed away in Winnipeg on 3 November 1935 and she’s buried in St. Andrews on the Red Anglican Church Cemetery. Carl’s wife Annabella never remarried and she died in Vancouver in 1972. She’s buried in Mountain View Cemetery.
Carl is commemorated on the Tyndall War Memorial in Tyndall, Manitoba.
By Becky Johnson