Private Harold Hartley
Harold Hartley was born on May 26, 1896 in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. He was the son of William Albert Hartley and Annie Elizabeth Waddington Hartley. He had one brother and one sister. The family immigrated to Paris in 1911. Harold was employed in Penmans Mill No.7. The family attended St. James Anglican Church and Harold was a faithful member the St James Bible Class.
Harold enlisted in July, 1915 with the 38th Dufferin Rifles at the age of 18 and went to Camp Niagara for training. He went overseas with the 76th Battalion, but on arrival in England, he was drafted into the 24th Battalion and had served in the trenches in Belgium for four months. Harold was killed in action on June 7, 1916 at Maple Copse. Maple Copse was a small plantation near Ypres, Belgium, that was a significant battle location and an advanced dressing station during World War I, particularly in the lead-up to and during the Battle of Mount Sorrel in June 1916**.** Canadian troops were almost alone in defending the area during this battle in June 1916, where they suffered heavy casualties, including units that were in support at Maple Copse. The copse, or small wood, served as a medical station for treating the wounded, and burials took place there. Intense fighting in the area, particularly in June 1916, led to the destruction of most of the graves and the copse itself.
The Battle of Mount Sorrel was a prelude to the Battle of the Somme, which came to typify the futility of trench warfare in World War I. The battle began on July 1, 1916 with a massive attack by hundreds of thousands of British and French troops, who would be mowed down by German machine guns as soon as they rose from their trenches. More than 57,000 British and Commonwealth troops, including the Newfoundland Regiment, would be killed in one day, the highest single day losses in the history of the British Army. Of the 790 Newfoundlanders who went over the top, 710 were either killed or wounded.
The 4th Canadian Division arrived on the Somme in mid-October to take over from their exhausted fellow Canadians who had been fighting there. They faced a battlefield that had turned to mud and a determined German defence that continued to take a murderous toll on Allied attacks. Despite these great challenges, the Canadians finally captured the shattered remains of Regina Trench on November 11. A week later, in the final attack of the Battle of the Somme, the Canadians took Desire Trench. There were no further advances as the winter weather came and the offensive staggered to a halt. The ‘Big Push' had resulted in the Allied lines being moved forward only some ten kilometres. The enormity of the lives wasted for such a minimal gain is difficult to comprehend.
Private Harold Hartley’s name is among the 55,000 names listed at the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium. They are the names of soldiers from the British Empire who have no known graves. Harold was 19 years old when he died.