Patrick Riel 8th Battalion Winnipeg Rifles CEF

[Sniper]

              In memory of Private Patrick RIEL

                  8th Battalion, Winnipeg Rifles

                 Canadian Expeditionary Force

                 A member of the Metis Nation

                          KIA 14 January 1916

                      Berks Cemetery Extension

                              Plot 111 B.39

                                30 plus kills 

[Becstar]

[Coldstreamer]

Ive never seen a reference to number of kills before accept in the realm of pilots. 

can you elaborate on this and the source of the info ?

cheers

[laughton]

He was a famous Canadian Sniper. Not sure about the number - more likely 22 or 23 but the newspaper says 29.

 

Here are some reliable links:

• Regimental Rogue: http://regimentalrogue.tripod.com/blog/index.blog/2343653/snipers-of-the-8th-cdn-inf-bn/
• Service Record: http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?op=pdf&app=CEF&id=B8274-S011

His casualty report states: "While on duty in the front line trenches at Ploegsteert on the afternoon of January 14th, 1916, he was hit in the neck by a splinter from an enemy high velocity shell, and instantly killed."

 

He was initially buried in Plot 4 Row C Grave 8 of the Rosenberg Chateau Military Cemetery 28.T.18.d.35.65. IN 1930 he was concentrated into Plot 3 Row B Grave 39 of the Berks Cemetery Extension.

 

This list was posted on our CEFSG site some time ago, so he was not high ranked as compared to others:

Quote

World War I
Name Conflict Service Branch Kills
Francis Pegahmagabow W.W. I Canada 378
Billy Sing W.W. I AIF (Australia) 150
Henry Norwest W.W. I Canada 115
Herbert W. McBride W.W. I Canada/U.S.A. 100+
Neville Methven W.W. I So. Africa 100
Johnson Paudash W.W. I Canada 88
Philip McDonald W.W. I Canada 70
P. Riel W.W. I Canada 30

 

 

 

Edited 19 January , 2020 by laughton
added text in quote

[Sniper]

Coldstreamer,

It is just something that I like to commemorate every year on the dates of their deaths.

 

You will have seen that laughton  has listed some of the high scorers as well. 

[Sniper]

laughton,

Thanks for that. My source states 30+, but impossible to be absolutely sure after all this time.

What is CEFSG?

[laughton]

8 hours ago, Sniper said:

What is CEFSG?

 

Canadian Expeditionary Force Study Group (formed by GWF members in 2004 with Canadian links)

• Web Site: https://cefresearch.ca/
• Forum: https://cefresearch.ca/phpBB3
• Wiki: https://cefresearch.ca/wiki/

Reference there to snipers and this book looks interesting: Sounding Thunder: The Stories of Francis Pegahmagabow

 

Quote

Francis Pegahmagabow (1889–1952), a member of the Ojibwe nation, was born in Shawanaga, Ontario. Enlisting at the onset of the First World War, he became the most decorated Canadian Indigenous soldier for bravery and the most accomplished sniper in North American military history. After the war, Pegahmagabow settled in Wasauksing, Ontario. He served his community as both chief and councillor and belonged to the Brotherhood of Canadian Indians, an early national Indigenous political organization. Francis proudly served a term as Supreme Chief of the National Indian Government, retiring from office in 1950.

 

[Sniper]

Thanks laughton.

I always post Peggy on his anniversary, although he survived the war, as you know.

 

I think from memory the only other sniper i commemorate who survived is Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard.

 

I have a fair amount of data about Canadian snipers from my research.

I'll be very interested to delve into this stuff. Many thanks for the links.

[58 Div Mule]

Interesting that a relative of Loius Riel should be serving with the 8th. 

 

Their antecedents included the 90th Winnipeg Rifles who'd  fought against the Metis in 1885.

 

58 DM.

 

 

[Sniper]

Not sure Patrick held the same beliefs as Louis.

Interesting point, though.

[ejwalshe]

I just learned Private Patrick Riel is NOT related to Louis Riel.

Quote

This thesis examines myths surrounding First World War soldier Patrick Riel and argues that white Canadian settlers have created a variety of stories about Patrick Riel’s supposedly Métis identity. Settler-propagated stories about Patrick Riel started after his untimely death in January 1916. In a few short weeks, news of his death had made headlines across Canada. Several war promoters, including the famous Max Aitken (also known as Lord Beaverbrook) and such lesser-known figures as Walter Gordon and Reverend R. G. McBeth propagated myths about Patrick Riel. By 1917, they had turned Patrick Riel into a heroic Métis sharpshooter and a nephew of Louis Riel. The problem is that Patrick Riel was not a member of the Métis Nation. He was also not Louis Riel’s “nephew” or “grandson,” as some have claimed. Through an examination of this soldier and subsequent events, we can learn how settler war promoters and writers have constructed a Métis identity for Patrick Riel. We can also see why English Canadians invented connections between Patrick Riel and Louis Riel. Investigations of these stories allow insights into how colonialism operates and how English Canadian settlers have sought to co-op Métis heroes into settler culture and history.

https://ourspace.uregina.ca/handle/10294/14367

Sad Richard Laughton not here to see this news.

[ejwalshe]

Private Patrick Riel enlisted in Valcartier, Quebec, never having visited Manitoba. Patrick Riel often represented as relative of Métis leader Louis Riel, but Patrick from an Algonquin band in Kitigan Zibi (Désert River), Quebec.

https://cefrg.ca/blog/private-patrick-riel/