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Heath, Charles Edgar “Eddie”, Brantford, Ontario, originally of Plymouth, England. Occupation: Machinist. Military Service: Private, Reg. No. 772898, 125th Overseas Bn., transferred to PPCLI. Attestation Papers. Diary References: “Heath is a very nice little fellow,” 6:9 Aug ’18; “Eddie Heath, my pal, very nervous … Ed Heath while running into another hole just ahead of me was hit in the neck and dropped … The last hour or two he was conscious he suffered considerable pain but I managed to get him a couple of morphine tablets which saved him quite a lot and under whose gentle influence he passed out about midnight I should judge. He died quietly … , ” 6:26 Aug ’18. According to Hodder-Williams, 201, Pte. Heath was killed near Monchy on 26 August 1918.
Additional Biographical Information:
Pte. Charles Edgar Heath was born in Plymouth, England in 1892, but living at Brantford, Ontario, when he enlisted in February 1916 at the age of 24½ years. He described himself as a “machinist” when he enlisted, and his wife, Edith was waiting for him back in Brantford. Unfortunately, he never returned. Frank’s detailed account of this humble man’s last hours on August 26 is perhaps the most poignant account of any that he wrote during the four years he was at the front.
Date of Death: 26 August 1918. See casualty details, Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Buried at Vis-en-Artois New British Cemetery, Haucourt, between Vis-en-Artois and Haucourt, Pas-de-Calais, France. Grave Reference: IV.F.9.
