Martin Skuse
Memorial: Thornbury - St Mary's Church
Regiment: Canadian Infantry
Medals: British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Private 210828
Parents: Thomas and Emma Skuse
Marital status: Single
Home address: Siblands, Thornbury, Bristol
Pre-war occupation: Labourer
Date of birth: 17/08/1888
Place of birth: Thornbury, Bristol
Date of death: 27/01/1917
Buried/Commemorated at: Écoivres Military Cemetery (Ref. IV. B. 28.), Mont- St Eloi
Age: 28
Further information:
Bronze Tablet and Wooden Memorial Board
Martin Skuse was born in Thornbury, the son of Thomas Skuse, a general labourer, and his wife, Emma. He had six brothers and five sisters. At the time of the 1911 census Martin was living at home at Siblands, employed as a farm labourer. On 27th April 1912 he sailed from Liverpool to Quebec on S.S. Megantic, with his brother Austin
On 23rd October 1915 Martin enlisted at Welland, Ontario. He joined the Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment), 58th Battalion. His enlistment record showed that he was single, had previously been a labourer and had spent 6 months with the 44th Regiment, Lincoln and Welland Militia. It noted that his brother, Austin, was living in Toronto and another brother, George, was in Walkerton, Ontario
The 58th Battalion embarked for Britain in November 1915. It arrived in France in February 1916, where it was part of the 9th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division. The Battalion saw action at the Battle of Mont Sorrel, near Ypres, in early June 1916 and in the Somme Offensive, which began on the 1st July. It took part in the Battle of Flers–Courcelette in September and The Battle of the Ancre Heights from October to November
At the end of the year the Canadians relieved the British near Vimy Ridge. Whilst holding the line, they spent the first months of 1917 reorganising, training and making preparations for the main assault at Vimy on 9th April. The trenches were in poor condition and working parties were under threat from snipers and trench mortar fire. These parties were repairing the wire and making strong points along the line. The weather was bitterly cold, with snowfall. Water pipes froze resulting in a lack of water for the troops. The frozen ground meant digging and making repairs to earthworks was difficult. The Canadians also undertook trench raids or surprise attacks on enemy positions, often in the middle of the night, to gain intelligence. The four months before the April attack saw the Canadians carry out about 55 separate trench raids resulting in many casualties
Martin Skuse was possibly injured between 11th and 23rd January, when a number of men were killed and wounded whilst in working parties or raids. Martin died on the 27th January
The village of Mont St Eloi, Pas de Calais, stands on high ground overlooking the battlefields of Vimy and Souchez. Écoivres is a hamlet lying at the foot of the hill. In part of the cemetery Canadian graves of those killed in the capture of Vimy Ridge in April 1917 are the majority, but there are also about twenty graves of men from 58th Battalion who died in the period before the main battle
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
Thornbury Roots Website. Thornbury and District Museum Research Group. Forces War Records and the CWGC