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Haggard, Rider Lancelot, enlisted at Ottawa, Ontario, originally of Ryde, Isle of Wight, England. Occupation: Bank Clerk. Military Service: Private, Capt. [Acting Maj], Reg. No. 1768, PPCLI. Attestation Papers. Diary References: “Lts. Newbrook [Tenbroeke], [Rider L.] Haggard and [R. W. Hodder] Williams wounded,”3:17 Sep ’16; “killed are Capt. Sullivan [H. E. Sulivan], Hagger [Capt. R. L. Haggard],”5:30 Oct ’17. According to Hodder-Williams, 80, Capt. R. L. Haggard was wounded 15 September 1916 and killed at Passchendaele on 30 October 1917.
Additional Biographical Information:
Capt. Haggard worked as a bank clerk before joining PPCLI as a Pte. on 25 Aug 1914. He arrived in England with the 1st Canadian Contingent in Oct 1914 and crossed to France with the Regiment in December. Hospitalized with perforated eardrum/foot ulcers on 26 Feb 1915, he was evacuated to England the following month. After his recovery, he was posted to 11 Reserve Bn., Shorncliffe, in July and commissioned as an officer in August 1915. Lieut. Haggard rejoined the PPCLI in the Kemmel Sector 30 Jan 1916 and saw action at the Battle of Mount Sorrel [Sanctuary Wood] and the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. Wounded in the right arm during an assault on Fabeck Graben trench line 15 Sep 1916, Haggard was evacuated to England, then returning to the PPCLI in the Vimy Ridge Sector 15 Jan 1917. After his promotion to Captain 20 Jan 1917, he took part in the 1st Battle of Arras (Vimy Ridge). He was Acting Maj. 10 Apr – 4 Jun 1917 (Company Commander). After returning from leave 21 Sep -1 Oct 1917, he saw general action in the 3rd Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) where he was killed during the assault on Meetcheele Ridge by shell fire at 6.00 a.m. 30 Oct 1917. He was only 24 years of age. See Stephen K. Newman, With the Patricia’s in Flanders 1914-1918, 129-130.
Date of Death: 30 October 1917. See casualty details, Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Buried at Passchendaele New British Cemetery, about 11 km northeast of Ieper (Ypres), West Flanders, Belgium. Grave Reference: VIII.A.19.
