Friendly Fire
Captain Clement Gawler Mead MC, son of the Rev. Richard Gawler Mead and Mrs. M. E. Mead, of Sussex, England; husband of Kate Mead, of Lake Saskatoon, Alberta. Born 25 July 1880.
Grant & Mead
Mead a prominent farmer residing about five miles from Lake Saskatoon associated with William Grant and founded Grant & Mead, known throughout the Peace River District.
Lt Meade served with distinction in 2nd C.M.R.’s during the Boer War and enlisted 22 July in Edmonton with the 66th Battalion out of Grande Prairie.
66th Battalion
Organized in June 1915 initially under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel J W H McKinery. Recruited and also mobilized in Edmonton. Draft of 5 officers and 250 other ranks sent to England on 11 September 1915. Embarked from Halifax 1 May 1916 aboard OLYMPIC, and later disembarked England 6 May 1916 with a strength of 36 officers, 1075 other ranks. Drafts to 31st and 49th Battalions, and later absorbed by 9th Canadian Reserve Battalion 1 August 1916.
Confirmed Lieutenant from 7 September 1915. Harvest furlough 18 August to 17 September 1915. Detailed to attend school of Signaling at Edmonton, 16 November 1915.
Lieutenant Mead proceeded to 52nd Battalion, 4 July 1916.
52nd Battalion
Organized in March 1915 initially under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel AW Hay. Mobilized at Port Arthur, recruited in Port Arthur, Kenora, Fort Francis, Fort William and also Dryden. Draft of 5 officers and 250 other ranks sent to England later on 17 June and 4 September 1915.
Embarked from Saint John 23 November 1915 aboard CALIFORNIA, and later disembarked in England on 2 December 1915 with a strength of 40 officers, 1032 other ranks. Arrived in France 21 February 1916 with the 3rd Canadian Division, 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade, and later reinforced by 18th Canadian Reserve Battalion.
Mead’s days with the battalion short-lived, and later transferred to the 49th Battalion 22 August 1916.
49th Battalion
Organized in January 1915 initially under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel W A Griesbach. Mobilized at Edmonton and also recruited in Edmonton.
The 49th Battalion embarked from Montreal 4 June 1915 aboard METAGAMA, and later disembarked in England on 13 June 1915 with a strength of 36 officers, 996 other ranks. Arrived in France 9 October 1915 with the 3rd Canadian Division, 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade, and later reinforced by 9th Canadian Reserve Battalion.
Lt Meade admitted to No 4 London General Hospital on 20 September 1916, GSW right foot. Discharged 3 October 1916.
Military Cross
Lt Clement Gawler Mead awarded the MC on 25 August 1917, London Gazette No 30251, and granted 14 days leave to London.
Lt Clement Gawler Mead Military Cross Citation
Awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when in command of a raiding company he led his men with greatest courage and aggressiveness, reorganizing them in spite of severe casualties and very largely contributed to the success of the raid
London Gazette No. 30251, 25 August 1917.
Mead’s medal instantly leads to a promotion – To be Temporary Captain, 29 August 1917, London Gazette No 30443.
Battle of Passchendaele
Captain Clement Gawler Mead admitted to 2nd British Red Cross Hospital, Rouen, 6 October 1917, GSW face severe. Discharged to base Depot, 4 November 1917.
The Death of Captain Clement Gawler Mead
At 2:30 am on 19 January 1918, a runner, wounded in the right hand, reaches battalion HQ with the news of Captain Mead’s death.
At 9:30 am, Captain Mead’s body conveyed to rear for burial.
Fosse No. 10 Communal Cemetery Extension
Sains-en-Gohelle a mining village 20 kilometres north of Arras on the road to Bethune. Fosse No.10 a pithead and group of miners’ houses south of the village.
The Forty Niner
Funeral of Captain Clement Gawler Mead MC, 19 January 1918, Fosse No. 10 Communal Cemetery Extension.
Captain Clement Gawler Mead MC buried in Plot III, Row C, Grave 4 at Fosse No. 10 Communal Cemetery Extension.
The Extension on the South side of the Communal Cemetery, begun in April 1916 and used continuously (chiefly by Field Ambulances) until October 1918.
Of the Chinese labourers, seven reburied in this cemetery after the Armistice from the following cemetery: PETIT-CUINCY GERMAN CEMETERY, near the South side of the road from Cuincy to Esquerchin, in the commune of Cuincy.
Douai British Cemetery
Petit-Cuincy German Cemetery contained, besides German graves, those of a small number of British soldiers, reburied after the Armistice in Douai British Cemetery.
Nearly 500, Great War casualties commemorated in this site.
The Cemetery Extension covers an area of 2,134 square metres and enclosed by a brick wall.
