WINNIPEG – Eight men killed Aug. 11, 1918, during the First World War battle for Hallu, France, were buried with military honours at Caix British Cemetery in France on Wednesday.
The eight men – five were identified as Lieut. Clifford Neelands, Lance Sgt. John Oscar Lindell, Pte. Sidney Halliday, Pte. William Simms and Pte. Lachlan McKinnon – were all members of Winnipeg’s 78th Battalion. The battalion suffered more than 46 fatalities and 54 missing during the advance in the Somme region of France.
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The remains of the eight men were found in Hallu in 2006 and 2007, the largest find of unknown Canadian soldiers since the Canadian Armed Forces casualty identification program started in 2006. The five named men were identified in 2014 using a combination of historical research, biological anthropological analysis, genetic analysis, dental analysis and isotopic analysis.
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The following information is known about the five identified men. Click their names to be taken to the Canadian Virtual War Memorial page for each man:
Neelands, a real estate agent at C.H. Enderton & Co. who was 26 when he died. The Barrie High School graduate was born in Barrie, Ont., but lived at 1023 Dorchester Ave., Winnipeg, when he enlisted on May 25, 1916.
Lindell, a railroad foreman who was 33 when he died, was born in Virestad Parish, Konobergm, Sweden, but lived in Winnipeg when he enlisted on July 1, 1915. His father, who lived at 249 Chalmer Ave., Winnipeg, was listed as his next of kin.
McKinnon, a butcher who died at 29, was born in Campbeltown, Argyllshire, Scotland, but lived in Manitoba when he enlisted on Aug. 6, 1915. His wife and parents lived in Scotland.
Simms, 25, was a farmer from Russell, Man., who enlisted in Winnipeg on Jan. 24, 1916. His father was Matthew Simms of Russell.
Halliday, 22, born at Apple Tree Cottage in North Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, was a farmer in Minto, Man., when he enlisted on Dec. 14, 1915.
The battle for Hallu was part of the larger Battle of Amiens launched on Aug. 8, 2014.
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