Pte. Isaac Hampton, 195th Battalion, Aug.16 1917

Isaac Hampton 907227

Portion of Vimy Memorial with Pte. Hampton's name.

Isaac Hampton was born on August 6, 1890 in Dummer Township, Ontario, Canada. He was the son of William Hampton and Elizabeth Bagnent, who farmed on Lot 22, Concession 5 of Dummer.  Isaac appears to have left the family farm by 1911, where at age 20, he appears in the 1911 Census as a servant on the farm of Henry C. Garbutt (Lot 27, Concession 9 Dummer Township). 

 

 

 

 

 

Isaac must have travelled to Western Canada, sometime after 1911.  He enlisted as a Private in the 195^th Battalion in Regina, Saskatchewan on the 6^th of March 1916.  He listed his present address as Govan, Saskatchewan, and his occupation as farmer.  He was unmarried and had no previous military experience.  He listed his father William (address: Lakefield Ontario) as his next of kin.  At enlistment, Isaac was 25 years old and seven months, he stood 5’8” tall, had a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair.  Like his parents, he was a member of the Church of England.

The 195^th Regina Battalion sailed to England in November 1916, and was soon absorbed into the 32^nd Reserve Battalion.  Sometime before August 1917, Isaac Hampton was transferred to the 5^th (Saskatchewan) Battalion.  It was with this battalion he entered the battle of Loos (Hill 70) in mid-August 1917.  It was a Canadian offensive on the German held town of Loos.  According to the 5^th Battalion War Diary, the 5th attacked the Hill on August 15th and occupied their objective, designated the “Blue Line”, with “very little enemy opposition”, (casualties numbered about 125).  The rest of the day was spent consolidating captured trenches while being heavily shelled by artillery.  During the night the men of the 5^th Battalion drove off several counter-attacks. 

On the 16^th, the next day, enemy aircraft continually strafed the men of the men 5^th Battalion as well as registered their positions for increased enemy artillery barrages.  Snipers also took a heavy toll.  By 4p.m. the order was given for the 5^th to attack forward and occupy another objective designated the “Red Line”.  It is unclear whether Pte. Hampton was still alive at this point or not.  The ensuing attack was described as stiff fighting and continuous bombing. 

 

 

 

 

Pte. Hampton was reported missing, believed to be killed on or since August 16^th, 1917.  This would indicate that he would have been killed in the defense of the occupied Blue Line, or the attack on the Red Line.  His body was never recovered from where it fell; he is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial.  He was 27.  He is also commemorated on the Dummer Township Cenotaph.

 

Sources

Ancestry.com. Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1913 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com

Operations Inc, 2010.

Canada: Library and Archives Canada. "Soldiers of the First World War (1914-1918)." Record Group

150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 4930 - 35. Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa.

Canada: Library and Archives Canada, 2007. <http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1911/index-e.html>. Series RG31-C-1. Statistics Canada Fonds. Microfilm reels T-20326 to T-20460.

Ancestry.com. Canada, War Graves Registers (Circumstances of Casualty), 1914-1948 [database on-

line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Ancestry.com. Canada, CEF Commonwealth War Graves Registers, 1914-1919 [database on-line].

Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Canada: Library and Archives Canada. Census of Canada, 1891. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and

Archives Canada, 2009. <http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1891/index-e.html>. Series RG31-C-1. Statistics Canada Fonds. Microfilm reels: T-6290 to T-6427.