PAUL, PTE WALTER Regimental # 657223
Walter Paul, was born October 22, 1893 in Ahmic Harbour, son of Richard and Harriet ‘Hattie’ (Crawford) Paul.
He enlisted Nov. 15, 1915 and arrived in England November 11, 1916 on the SS Caronia with the 162nd. He was transferred to the 35th Battalion on December 5
Walter Paul
On Dec. 19, 1916 he was appointed acting sergeant with the 35th Battalion.
In January 1917 he was transferred to the 4th Reserve Battalion and in May was taken on strength with the 1st Battalion in France.
On August 19, 1917 he was killed in action.
It would appear likely that Walter died during what is known as the ‘Battle of Hill 70’. As noted in Chapter 1, Veterans Affairs Canada identifies that as part of an effort to divert pressure from Passchendaele, the Canadians were directed to “ first capture the nearby high ground to the north (codenamed Hill 70 because it rose 70 metres above sea level). The plan was to take its slopes with a surprise assault, then quickly set up the Canadian defences to cut down the inevitable counterattacks that the Germans would launch as the enemy could never allow the strategically located hill to remain in Allied hands. On August 15, 1917, the offensive was launched and the Canadians soon seized most of its objectives on the slopes of Hill 70. The shocked Germans reacted as expected and flung a total of 21 counterattacks against our soldiers over the days that followed. The result was carnage as they advanced again and again into the deadly hail of bullets from 250 Canadian machine guns and were pounded by heavy artillery fire. The fighting at Hill 70 was remarkably brutal to even the most battle-hardened of soldiers. Poison gas was widely used, often forcing the men to gasp for air inside their restrictive respirators as they struggled to see the advancing enemy through their fogged-up goggles. Many of our soldiers had to engage in desperate hand-to-hand combat against the tenacious German attackers who managed to reach the Canadian defensive lines.
Despite the Germans’ ferocious efforts, Hill 70 remained in the Canadians’ grasp. The Germans still held Lens, however, although it was now being swept by fire from our forces holding the commanding heights to the north. On August 21 and 23, it was the Canadians’ turn to again go on the offensive as they launched attacks on the town itself. It would also prove to be their turn to suffer major casualties as the German defenders poured heavy fire of their own on the exposed Canadian attackers.
Walter signed his Attestation Papers on November 15, 1915.
Walter arrived in England on November 11, 1916 on the S.S. Caronia. He transferred to the 35th Reserve Battalion in Dec. 1916 /January 1917. He was then transferred to the 1st Battalion. He was killed in action, August 19, 1917.
