"W. D. Boag, Regimental No. 853247, Canadian 4th Bn., Canadian Infantry, 3-7-18."The inscription was made the 3rd of July 1918. When I searched the name in the military registers, I found that William David Boag was buried not very far away, in Bouchoir New British Cemetery. He had been killed the 9th of August 1918. At an age of 21. That is one month after he had made the inscription.
In my book I had a full-page photograph of the inscription and during the lectures I held when the book was published I always showed the photograph together with full size frottages I had made of the grave stone and the inscription. I also made a posting on my blog, where I used it as an example of graffiti and inscriptions at the western front.
Then one day this spring a relative of Willam David Boag contacted me. He had found out about this when he saw my posting in Swedish. I think this is really fantastic.
He was interested in his family's background and had found my posting on the blog (in Swedish). He told me that according to the family legend the Boag family was "cleared" out of Scotland for mischief / horse theft in the late 1700's and sent to Canada or be punished, and that they arrived sometime in 1805–1820. A man with the same name as the soldier, William David Boag, was a founding father (pioneer) of Sharon, Ontario, an Anglo-Scotch community in East Gwillimbury. All his family in Canada descends from him. Early until the 1960s the Boag family bred and trained Clydesdales for heavy work, police and military units and when Great Britain went to war so did his family. His great great grandfather Henry George Boag was a master horseman and sergeant in the Central Ontario Regiment. Henry George Boag's two sons, George Wells Boag and William David Boag, also went to war.
But the Canadian relative who contacted me did not know much about William David Boag who died in the First World War. He first heard of him when he was a boy at his great aunts house. He had asked her if they had family in the wars, and she had said yes and brought to him William David Boag's military photo. He remember that the young soldier on the photograph was so happy and looked like him, he remembers. She said he was in first world war. He never got anything else from her, she walked away.
The recovered photograph, mentioned above, of William David Boag.
The Canadian relative told me that his feelings about all this is a mix of pride, curiousity and contemplation:
"Proud that someone in my family would involve themselves to protect British interests. Curious as to what happened to him that day, before and after. Contemplative, that I wouldn't be able to fight any Europeans for any reason and how difficult that most have been."
I promised to help him search for the history of his relative who is buried in Europe. Here is the story (from documents at Library and Archives Canada):
William David Boag enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in his hometown Barrie, Ontario (not far from Toronto), the 28th of April 1916. He was at that time an almost 19 year old student, unmarried. According to his attestation and medical papers in the Canadian military archives he was born in Gwillimbury south of Barrie in July 1897. He was 5 ft 6 ins tall and weighted 122 Lbs, had fair complexion, fair hair and blue eyes. His "physical development" was also "fair". According to notes in the papers he had been a Royal Canadian army cadet for five years before enlisting. He had also attended a military camp in 1914.
The 1st of May 1917 William Boag embarked on the steamer S/S Metagama in Halifax for Liverpool, where he disembarked after two weeks at sea. He arrived at the Canadian Base Depot in France half a year later, the 16th of November 1917. Three days later he arrived at a Canadian Corps Reinforcement Camp on the Western Front, where he stayed for a month. The the 22nd of December, he was transferred to the 4th Battalion (Ontario) of the 1st Division in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. According to its battalion war diary the 4th Battalion was at the time when he arrived on the 29th December 1917 at rest behind the front in the village of Divion, west of Béthune, in Artois, France. A short note in the battalion war diary this day mentions his arrival:
"A draft of 19 O.R.'s [other ranks] taken on strength of Bt."
The front sector at Béthune, that is between Ypres and Arras, had been a quiet sector since 1915. The battalion stayed in this area to the end of March, when it moved to another rather quiet front sector east of Arras. Here it stayed until the end of June 1918. When the battalion had its front sector east of Arras it had its rest billets in villages west of Arras.
The great German spring offensive in the Somme south of Arras towards Amiens began the 21st of March 1918 (south of the 4th battalion's sector). The offensive was stopped at Villers-Bretonneux, west of Amiens, in the first days of April. On the 9th of April the German offensive continued but with a large attack at the Flanders front, and in the end of May the German offensive continued in an attack southwards in the direction of Paris in the so called Second Battle of the Marne.
During May and June 1918 the 4th Canadian battalion was in Corps Reserve respective G.H.Q Reserve behind the front in the villages Aurin, Izel-lès-Hameau, Anzin and Cambligneul. The 30th of June, still as G.H.Q. Reserve, the 4th batallion was moved to the small village Écoivres, that is the village where Boag made the inscription on the church wall, almost 40 kilometres west of Arras. It arrived to the village at 10.30 a.m.
"The Sick numbering 130 were moved by 1st. Canadian Field Ambulances. The Battalion took over billets from the 16th Canadian Infantry Battalion and come under orders of Canadian Corps, ready to move on 2 hours' notice from 5.00 a.m. to 7.00 a.m. and four hour notice for the reminder of the day. Fine and clear with cool fresh breeze."
The 1st and 2nd of July many of the battalion's officers were engaged in sports. Battalion parades for commanding officer's inspection were held each day at 8.00 a.m. followed by training "as per Syllabus" 2–8 July. The incription on the church wall was made the 3rd, according to its date. From the battalion war diary the 3rd:
"Sick parade reduced and Influenza wave on decline. [...] Organized sports this afternoon. Lower temperature variable, sunshine and cloudy. Strong breeze all day."
Bath in Ecoivres the 7th, it is recorded in the diary, and battalion working party of 400 men at Brunehaut Farm at Marœuil north-west of Arras 8–10 July. The 11th of July:
"Battalion cleaned up and prepared for going to trenches next day. No Battalion parade. Rain fell troughout greater part of the day."
On the night to the 13th of July the battalion moved to the Fampoux sector, east of Arras, where it stayed to the 19th. During the 20th to the 24 it was at rest again, and the 24th it was brigade support in the village Agny west of Arras. The 1st of August the battalion was moved to Warlus, and the day after it was moved to Grand Rullecourt, further west, where it was in G.H.Q Reserve. The 4th of August it was moved further south-west to Boves Wood at St. Maulvis, west of Amiens, where it bivoucacced in the wood without shelter. During the night to the 7th of August the battalion moved to assembly position in the outskirts of Gentelles, south-east of Amiens.
The 8th of April was the beginning of the great Allied offensive which led to the armistice in November 1918. The German general Ludendorff called the 8 August 1918 "the black day of the German army".
August 8th, 1918, accordind to the 4th battalion war diary:
"Battalion advanced for Attack on Objective as allotted by O.O. No. 42. Zero hour was 4.20 a.m. Battalion reached Objective by 11.30 a.m. Casualties were about 125. 1 Officer was killed and O.O. No. 6 Officers wounded. Excellent work was effected by Officers of 'A' and 'D' Companies in keeping 42. their direction in thick mist at the opening of the Battle. Battalion transport moved up from BOVES WOOD in the morning and received orders at 6.35 p.m. to move up and join the Battalion, east of AUBERCOURT. Transport and Composite Company move at about 8.00 p.m. Fifty-four men join the Battalion to-day: 40 of them being reinforcements. Cool and cloudy. Thick mist during the early morning. Visibility poor."
August 9th, 1918:
"Battalion Headquarters near INGACOURT, the 4 Companies 2 Kilometres in advance (to the East) in Outpost Formation. Orders received from Brigade to take up assembly positions SouthEast of CAYEAUX. Battalion less Transport move at 7.30 a.m. to this position. Settled in position by 8.45 a.m. Officers chargers and Lewis Gun Limbers and Medical Cart accompany Battalion. Enemy shelling CAYEAUX. No damage. Battalion moved to assembly position 1 Mile NorthEast of LE QUESNEL; moved at 2.00 p.m. to Attack and attained Objective, BEAUFORT and ROUVROY by 10.15 p.m. Casualties very heavy. one Officer Killed and 11 Wounded. Many Casualties in N.C.O's.
Commanding Officer received rifle bullet through leg but remained in Command until 10th inst. Many gallant acts were performed by all ranks in face of extremely severe machine gun fire. Battalion set out on Outpost Line at Dusk. Lieut. Harris and sixteen Other Ranks buried beside Battalion Hdqrs this afternoon, all the H.Q's personnel and Officers attended. Number limited on account of desultory shelling at the time."
August 10th, 1918:
"Battalion resting and clearing Battlefield and burying the dead under direction of Capt. Hamilton, Chaplain, who performed excellent work on both August 8th and 9th. [...] The Hun is being driven back and is destroying his dumps by fire. This open Warfare in this Ideal Country presents a magnificent, every changing panorama. 1 Casualty to-day. Weather Ideal."
On the 8th of August, the Canadian troops, besides the French and the Australian troops, had advanced more than twelve kilometres from the old front line south of Villers-Brettoneux to the second German defence line betweeen the villages Le Quesnel and Beaufort, a trench line which run in north-south direction. The 4th Battalion had taken part of the attack during the day but not in the first line. The battalion was then during the morning of the 9th moved to assembly positions north-east of Le Quesnel, for its attack during the afternoon and evening of the 9th.
According to William Boag's register card in the Circumstances of Death Registers, he was killed in action the 9th of August 1918:
"Killed in Action
This soldier was a runner in "A" Company Headquarters and was advancing towards the second day's objective, in the vicinity of BEAUFORT and ROUVROY, when he was instantly killed by enemy machine gun fire."
On the back of the card it is noted:
"Exhumed from near trench 1000 yards in front and to the right of Beaufort."
According to a "Concentration of graves (exhumations and re-burials)"-document in the Commonwealth Grave Commission archive William David Boag was exhumed from the same grave as Lieutenant Harris and several other soldiers, beside HQ. At this document, as well as at the Lieutenant's register card, there are detailed information of the location of the original grave: a trench map reference:
"Sheet 66e. K.12.d.central" and "66e. K.12.d. 5.5".
That would be in the German trench which run three kilometres west of and parallell with the main German defence line, that is, he was buried in the German trench which hade been taken by the battalion earlier the same day (the 9th).
The detailed map reference above is marked with a red square on the maps and map overlays below (notice the blue marked German trenches):
The body of William David Boad was exhumed from his original grave in December 1919. A cross had been found on Boag's grave, according to the documents. He was reburied in Bouchoir New British Cemetery, section II, A. 27, a couple of kilometers south of his original grave.