Remembering Private Laurier Falconer Pye—DOW October 5, 1918

Laurier Falconer Pye was born at Sherbrooke, Guysborough County, on October 26, 1896, the fourth of Eugenia “Gene” (Jollota) and Charles Waddell Pye’s eight sons. In April 1914, Laurier followed two of his older brothers to the Massachusetts, where he found employment as a leather worker in the town of Salem.

Pte. Laurier Falconer Pye's headstone, Étaples Military Cemetery, France

Following the United States’ April 6, 1917 declaration of war on Germany, Laurier faced the prospect of being conscripted into military service. An older brother, Lloyd, registered for the American draft in June 1917 and departed for France with an American Expeditionary Force (AEF) unit in late September. Facing the prospects of being drafted into the AEF, Laurier decided to contact Canadian Expeditionary Force recruiters in Boston. He completed the required medical examination and departed by train for Saint John, NB, where he voluntarily attested for military service on January 22, 1918.

Laurier was “taken on strength” by the 1st Depot Battalion, New Brunswick Regiment, on February 7 and departed from Halifax aboard SS Melita 11 days later. Upon arriving in England, he was assigned to the 13th Reserve Battalion (New Brunswick) and reported to Camp Bramshott for training. On August 18, Laurier proceeded to France for service with the 26th Battalion (New Brunswick). Shortly after arriving on the continent, however, he was re-assigned to the 44th Battalion (Manitoba) and joined the unit in the forward area on August 29.

The 44th had recently participated in the Canadian Corps’ August 8, 1918 attack on the German line east of Amiens, an event that marked the commencement of a major Allied counter-offensive. Before month’s end, the western Canadian unit was re-designated a “New Brunswick” battalion, to accommodate soldiers recruited under the Military Service Act. On the afternoon of August 27, the 44th travelled by train from Amiens to Aubigny-en-Artois, northwest of Arras. Two days later, a draft of 89 “other rank” reinforcements—a group that included Private Laurier Pye—joined its ranks.

Within days, the battalion returned to the front lines. On September 2, its soldiers participated in the Canadian Corps’ attack on the Drocourt - Quèant Line, a section of the Germans’ vaunted Hindenberg defensive system east of Arras, France. Relieved on the night of September 4/5, the 44th retired to camp and spent the next three weeks training and re-organizing its ranks. On the night of September 25/26, the unit returned to the front trenches between Inchy and Mœuvres and spent the following day preparing for combat.

On the morning of September 27, the 44th participated in the opening stage of the Canadian Corps’ attack on Canal du Nord, an incomplete waterway on the outskirts of Cambrai. During the initial advance, its personnel succeeded in crossing a dry section of the canal and established positions on its eastern bank. Before mid-day, supporting 3rd Division units passed through its lines and continued the attack.

The following day, the 44th’s personnel once again moved forward and resumed the advance. While the battalion successfully secured its objectives, German forces launched several counter-attacks on its positions throughout the day. While personnel repelled each assault, persistent enemy fire took its toll on the unit’s ranks. Forced to retreat to a nearby railway line when an evening counter-attack penetrated its right flank, the weary soldiers managed to push forward to the Douai - Cambrai Road after nightfall.

By 3:00 a.m. September 29, almost 48 hours of combat had reduced the 44th’s ranks to two Officers, three Sergeants and 100 “other ranks.” Two hours later, 12th Brigade units passed through the 44th’s lines, finally allowing its remaining personnel to withdraw. The battalion’s war diary later reported a total of 405 casualties during its Canal du Nord tour—31 killed, 306 wounded and 68 missing, many of whom were “believed killed.”

At some point during the fighting on September 28, 1918, Laurier received a severe gunshot wound to the head. The exact details are unknown, his “circumstances of casualty” card stating only that “he was severely wounded; stretcher bearers rendered first aid and he was taken to a dressing station and later evacuated to No. 22 General Hospital, Camiers.”

Laurier was admitted to the hospital on October 2, but there was little that staff could do to improve his situation. After lingering for several days, Private Laurier Falconer Pye “died of wounds received in action” on October 5, 1918. Three weeks shy of his twenty-second birthday at the time of his passing, Laurier was laid to rest in Étaples Military Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France.

Étaples Military Cemetery

Laurier’s story is one of 64 profiles contained in Bantry Publishing’s First World War Honour Roll of Guysborough County, Nova Scotia, Volume II: 1918 - 1937, available for purchase online at bantrypublishing.ca .