Private Herbert John Huntley
5th Canadian Mounted Rifles
Killed in Action
Date of Birth: 25 March, 1888
Place of Birth: Teignmouth, Devon
Date of Death: 14 March 1916 in France, aged 28.
Buried: Bailleul Communal Cemetery, Nord, France, Grave Ref. II. C. 213; remembered on Seafront Memorial and St. James’ Memorial Window.
Private Herbert (Bert) John Huntley age 28.
Born in Teignmouth on 25 March 1888, Herbert was baptised on 25 April and his parents were John and Pearce Mary (neé Young) of 11 Bitton Street, Teignmouth; his father was an innkeeper at the Beehive Inn.
In 1891 the family are shown at the Beehive Inn, 11 Bitton Street, but by 1901 the census showed them living at 5 Grove Crescent, his father is now retired.
His parents had both died by 1908 and he later travelled to Canada with his aunt and uncle. He was shown on the electoral roll for 1912 and 1913 as the owner of a property in Bitton Street, he was then living in Whitechapel, London.
Newspaper Clipping
He enlisted at Halifax on 22 June 1915 with 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles, (Quebec Regiment), service no. 111244.
His Canadian army record showed that his next-of-kin was his uncle, Charles Young, Beehive Inn, Bitton Street, Teignmouth, who was notified that Bert had been killed in action on 14 March 1916.
Bert had been a member of Teignmouth Football club and the Swimming Club; he had been the goalkeeper of the water polo team for several seasons. He was buried in Bailleul Communal Cemetery, Nord, France; remembered on Seafront Memorial and St. James’ Memorial Window.
5th Canadian Mounted Rifles
5th Canadian Mounted Rifles Cap Badge
In the First World War the 5th Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles were a mounted infantry unit of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (C.E.F).
They were raised in 1915 and sailed to England later that year.
Canadian Mounted Rifles recruitment poster. LC-USZC4-12402. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
In 1916, the unit converted to an infantry battalion attached to the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division, C.E.F.
The battalion saw action in France and Flanders between 1916 and 1918.
The Official History of the Canadian Army in the First World War Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914-1919 can be downloaded for free here, (676 page document).
