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R
Private 58216
Middlesex Regiment 20th Bn.
Died 28-September-1918 aged 38
Husband of R. Reygate, of 22, Belmont Rd., Belmont, Surrey.
Charles was born in Banstead in the fourth quarter of 1880.
The 1891 Census shows him in Croydon and in 1901 he was a 20 year old domestic gardener in Banstead.
Grave Reference: III. B. 22.
BELGIAN BATTERY CORNER CEMETERY
Source : Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
1901 Census
family history from Martin Grimwood
Last updated 2 Nov 2007. Birth details
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Wood panel
All Saints Church
Banstead
REYGATE, SIDNEY
Private 183686
Canadian Infantry (Alberta Regiment) 49th Bn.
Died 30-October-1917 aged 32
Son of George and Emily Reygate, of Sutton Lane, Banstead, Surrey.
George Sidney Lee Reygate was born on the 1st of February 1883 and as a young man he worked as a farmer in Banstead Surrey. In 1901, at the age of 16 Sidney is recorded as living in Banstead with his parents, brothers Charles and Percy and ten month old sister Edith. At this time he was a butcher.
In 1903 or 1904, Sidney travelled to Canada on the SS Lake Manitoba.....
...... Initially he stayed with his uncle, Fred Harris who worked on a Homstead owned by Oliver Hanson. The land was known by its reference of SW quarter section 10-19-27-4. Hanson ran an experimental farm for some years eventually selling up in 1910.
Sidney took on his own homestead at reference SE quarter, section 10-19-27-W4, presumably in the same locality as Mr Hanson's. During the winters, Sidney stayed with a family by the name of Richie where he was a big help to a widow with a young family.
He sold his farm in November 1907. By 1911, Sidney's occupation was as an 'Engine cleaner' this time lodging in Kootenaya, British Columbia. His work suggests that he worked either in one of the mines, or possibly on a Riverboat.
He enlisted to serve with the Canadian Overseas Expeditionery Force on the 1st of December 1915 and joined the 49th battalion - The Alberta Regiment.
The regiment was involved in the Battle of the Somme and after that the 49th Battalion moved on to the Arras sector, where the men could rest and even take leave in England.
It is likely that Sidney Reygate took part in the Vimy Ridge attack in April 1917 which is the most celebrated in the history of the Canadian Corps in the First World War. Given the opportunity to plan a major operation on their own, the Canadians, came up with an attack that was a model of planning, preparation, and economy of force. The experience of the 7th Brigade and the 49th at Vimy was typical. Half the strength of the 49th went over the top at 5:30 a.m. on 9 April. Their job was to mop up, reinforce where necessary, act as stretcher-bearers, and bring up ammunition. The simple fact that even this supporting role had been carefully rehearsed showed what a different kind of battle this was from the Somme six months earlier. By noon on the day of the attack, all of the 49th had been committed to the fighting and all objectives captured. The battalion had fewer than 100 casualties for the operation.
During the spring and summer of 1917, the 49th spent a relatively uneventful period in the Lens sector. The only exception to the quiet was an ill-conceived trench raid on 8 June. The raid, which was conducted by no fewer than six battalions, cost the 49th twice as many casualties as Vimy Ridge. In the first week of October, however, the battalion moved north with the rest of the Canadian Corps to take over from the Australians who had been ground down by Haig's offensive in Flanders. The Battle of Passchendaele, or Third Ypres, revealed that the high command had learned little from the futility of the Somme the previous year. Given that the winter rains were coming on, going back to the waterlogged Ypres Salient seemed like a bad idea to all the Canadians from the commander of the corps, General Arthur Currie, down to the newest private. Their fears were more than justified.
The Canadian Corps attack, which began on 22 October during a brief spell of dry weather, had some initial success. When the 49th went in a week later, conditions had become much worse. The mud was so deep that movement was only possible on wooden duckboards. Trench systems dissolved completely. Dispersal was not an option, and moving up to attack position meant a heavy drain on manpower. Enemy domination of the air and the impossibility of finding firm platforms for field guns reduced the effectiveness of the artillery preparation. Just before 6:00 a.m. on 30 October, "B" and "C" companies climbed out of their shell holes and began their advance. Devastating machine gun fire immediately confronted them. Colonel Palmer reported that "B" Company lost most of its strength in the first 35 metres. It was on this day that Private Sidney Reygate was killed.
The Canadians went on to take the village of Passchendaele, a central objective of allied forces, on 6 November 1917, just seven days after Sidney Reygate gave his life for his country.
Memorial Reference: Panel 24 - 28 - 30.
YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL Ieper, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium.
Source : Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
All Saints Church Memorial, Banstead, Surrey.
Photograph of medal courtesy of Fergus Read, WWI militaria collector.
Photograph Menin Gate inscription by Avalon Eastman.
Photograph of Menin Gate 49th Canadian Infantry Panel by Mike Shackel.
regimental history http://www.lermuseum.org/ler/rh/ch2_page05.html
Postcard of SS Lake Manitoba by Permission of http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/CP2.html#anchor440822 .
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Latest update 26 Nov 2008 - Addition of Menin Gate inscription.