Sgt Harry Cranston, #150057, was born on April 25, 1893 in Merrickville, ON. His sister was Mrs. Bella Cumming of Bashaw, Alberta who later lived in Edmonton, Alberta. Sgt. Cranston enlisted on Aug. 10, 1915 in Brandon, Manitoba at the age of 26 and assigned to the 79th battalion. He listed John Cranston of Merrickville, ON as next of kin later listed as deceased, his occupation as a picture framer and his religion as Presbyterian. He was 5’8, 37” chest, 155 lbs., single, hazel eyes and dark hair. His medals, decorations, plaque and scroll all went to his sister, Mrs. Bella Cumming. J. Johnston of Merrickville, ON was to be notified of his death. His pay of $15 per month went to his father, John Cranston of Merrickville. Sgt. Cranston also wrote a will on Oct. 19, 1917 just before he died leaving everything to his father.
Sgt. Cranston was hospitalized Nov. 8-29, 1915 for an illness. He was again hospitalized on Sept 10, 1916 to Jan 4, 1917 for a gunshot wound to the left arm.
Sgt. Cranston trained with the 79th battalion for a month then went home to go overseas with the 12th Reserve Battalion. Sgt. Cranston sailed from Montreal on Sept 25, 1915 on the SS Corsican for England where he joined the 11th battalion. On Feb 29, 1916, he joined the 8th battalion and went to France. After he recovered from his wound, he was awarded the Military Medal and promoted to Sgt. on Jan. 5, 1917. He was then given 10 days of leave. On Oct 4 to 16, 1917, he stayed at Rest Camp.
Sgt. Cranston received his military medal during the attack on Arleux-En-Gohelle on April 28, 1917 for conspicuous gallantry and coolness. During the attack, his section came under fire from two machine guns. He organized the section, had them attack the one gun and he bombed the other one. He then captured 20 prisoners with his section elevating a critical situation.
The 8th battalion were key members in the Battle of Passchendale. On Nov 8, 1917, the 8th battalion moved into the front line trench and withstood heavy artillery through the night and into the day of the 9th. At 10:30pm, the order was given to go over the top. Unfortunately, the leading company had lost their company commander during the artillery fire and a junior subaltern was leading them. The company got lost which hampered the attack. Two companies advanced and met their objective, and the third company did not meet their objective due to heavy machine gun fire. One of the successful company then retreated due to being isolated. Sgt. Cranston was with the company that failed to advance due to the heavy machine gun fire.
Sgt. Cranston died on Nov 10, 1917 while with the 8th battalion. He was shot in the stomach by machine gun fire at Passchendale and died while being carried to the rear. He is memorialized on the Menin Gate Memorial Panels 24-26-28-30. He was also awarded a Military Medal for bravery.The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, often referred to simply as the Menin Gate, bears the names of more than 54,000 soldiers who died before 16 August 1917 and have no known grave. He is commemorated on page 222 of the Book of Remembrance.
Sgt. Cranston was hospitalized Nov. 8-29, 1915 for an illness. He was again hospitalized on Sept 10, 1916 to Jan 4, 1917 for a gunshot wound to the left arm.
Sgt. Cranston trained with the 79th battalion for a month then went home to go overseas with the 12th Reserve Battalion. Sgt. Cranston sailed from Montreal on Sept 25, 1915 on the SS Corsican for England where he joined the 11th battalion. On Feb 29, 1916, he joined the 8th battalion and went to France. After he recovered from his wound, he was awarded the Military Medal and promoted to Sgt. on Jan. 5, 1917. He was then given 10 days of leave. On Oct 4 to 16, 1917, he stayed at Rest Camp.
Sgt. Cranston received his military medal during the attack on Arleux-En-Gohelle on April 28, 1917 for conspicuous gallantry and coolness. During the attack, his section came under fire from two machine guns. He organized the section, had them attack the one gun and he bombed the other one. He then captured 20 prisoners with his section elevating a critical situation.
The 8th battalion were key members in the Battle of Passchendale. On Nov 8, 1917, the 8th battalion moved into the front line trench and withstood heavy artillery through the night and into the day of the 9th. At 10:30pm, the order was given to go over the top. Unfortunately, the leading company had lost their company commander during the artillery fire and a junior subaltern was leading them. The company got lost which hampered the attack. Two companies advanced and met their objective, and the third company did not meet their objective due to heavy machine gun fire. One of the successful company then retreated due to being isolated. Sgt. Cranston was with the company that failed to advance due to the heavy machine gun fire.
Sgt. Cranston died on Nov 10, 1917 while with the 8th battalion. He was shot in the stomach by machine gun fire at Passchendale and died while being carried to the rear. He is memorialized on the Menin Gate Memorial Panels 24-26-28-30. He was also awarded a Military Medal for bravery.The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, often referred to simply as the Menin Gate, bears the names of more than 54,000 soldiers who died before 16 August 1917 and have no known grave. He is commemorated on page 222 of the Book of Remembrance.