enlisted: 8th Bn., Canadian Infantry (Manitoba Regt.)

rank: Private 234662

died: 10th November 1917

buried: Grave XII,C.11. Poelcapelle British Cemetery, Belgium. 

History

Wilfred was the son of Catherine and John James Fakeley, who emigrated to Canada about 1902. He was born in Dover, Kent. 

In the summer an autumn of 1917, British Anzac and Canadian forces fought the 3rd Battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele, for the objective was the capture of that Flanders town. In mid October the Canadians were brought up to mount a large scale attack on the town itself, relieving the British and Anzac forces. The attack commenced on 26th October, Passchendaele was taken on 8th November and the final attack on 10th November secured the ridge beyond the town.

 Wilfred died during the final push to capture the ridge on the last day of the battle. He was one of the last men to die, one of 250,000 British and Allied troops who were killed from August to October 1917.

Albert John Fakeley of London, his third cousin, was also killed at Passchendaele.