111175 Pte. Frederick Ernest Flaherty

Ypres Reservoir Cemetery

Ieper

Belgium

Born in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, in September 1877, Frederick was married and a painter by trade living in St. John, Nova Scotia, when he signed on.

Attesting in Amherst, Nova Scotia, on March 30th, 1915, Frederick was orininally assigned to the 6th CMR, which was subsequently absorbed into the 4th CMR in January 1916.

Serving without notable incident in the meantime, Frederick was lost on June 2nd, 1916, during the 'Battle for Mount Sorrel'.

176 men of the 4th CMR were lost that morning, many without trace. Frederick body was one of the few to be located after the 13 day action was over.

During the height of the opening day of the battle, on June 2nd, with the front line completely levelled, a call was sent forward for the men to pull back and consolidate a defence with the 5th CMRs in reserve back at Maple Copse.

Pockets of men made it back to that line, where fierce hand to hand fighting erupted when the Germans made forward to take the coveted ground towards Ypres. Knowing this, it is interesting to note that the 'Circumstances of Death Register' notes that Frederick was reported missing in the "vicinity of Maple Copse", suggesting that he was one of the few who had made it out of the hell on the front line and back into the area of the 5th CMR's position, in front of Maple Copse.

Pte Frederick Flaherty lies at rest, with three fellow 4th CMR men, in the Ypres Reservoir Cemetery, Ieper town.

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Thanks go to David Kavanagh for the biography. The headstone image was supplied courtesy of 4cmr.com