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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

George Thomas Pillow

In memory of:

Lance Corporal George Thomas Pillow

November 18, 1916

Military Service


Service Number:

541451

Age:

30

Force:

Army

Unit:

Canadian Infantry (Alberta Regiment)

Additional Information


Born:

December 19, 1885

Son of Thomas and Jane Cobb Pillow. Chartered Accountant. Winner of gold medal in final year.

Commemorated on Page 148 of the First World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information


Cemetery:

VIMY MEMORIAL
Pas de Calais, France

Grave Reference:

N/A

Location:

Canada's most impressive tribute overseas to those Canadians who fought and gave their lives in the First World War is the majestic and inspiring Vimy Memorial, which overlooks the Douai Plain from the highest point of Vimy Ridge, about eight kilometres northeast of Arras on the N17 towards Lens. The Memorial is signposted from this road to the left, just before you enter the village of Vimy from the south. The memorial itself is someway inside the memorial park, but again it is well signposted. At the base of the memorial, these words appear in French and in English:

TO THE VALOUR OF THEIR COUNTRYMEN IN THE GREAT WAR AND IN MEMORY OF THEIR SIXTY THOUSAND DEAD THIS MONUMENT IS RAISED BY THE PEOPLE OF CANADA


Inscribed on the ramparts of the Vimy Memorial are the names of over 11,000 Canadian soldiers who were posted as 'missing, presumed dead' in France. A plaque at the entrance to the memorial states that the land for the battlefield park, 91.18 hectares in extent, was 'the free gift in perpetuity of the French nation to the people of Canada'. Construction of the massive work began in 1925, and 11 years later, on July 26, 1936, the monument was unveiled by King Edward VIII. The park surrounding the Vimy Memorial was created by horticultural experts. Canadian trees and shrubs were planted in great masses to resemble the woods and forests of Canada. Wooded parklands surround the grassy slopes of the approaches around the Vimy Memorial. Trenches and tunnels have been restored and preserved and the visitor can picture the magnitude of the task that faced the Canadian Corps on that distant dawn when history was made. On April 3, 2003, the Government of Canada designated April 9th of each year as a national day of remembrance of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Digital Collection

Send us your images

  • Memorial– Photo from the National Memorial Album of Canadian Heroes c.1919. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me.
  • Photo of GEORGE THOMAS PILLOW– Photo from the National Memorial Album of Canadian Heroes c.1919. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me.
  • Memorial– Inscription - Vimy Memorial … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Telegram January 1917. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper Clipping
  • Newspaper Clipping
  • Newspaper Clipping– This article and photo of  George Thomas Pillow appeared in the Toronto Evening Telegram on December 2nd, 1916.  In honoured memory.
  • Roll of Honour– Dufferin School, Toronto, Ontario.  A memorial plaque listing 48 former students who died during the first World War was dedicated at Dufferin School on January 20th, 1928.  The memorial was unveiled by Thomas J. Bragg, President Dufferin School Old Boys, and dedicated by Rev. E. A. Henry, D.D., Chaplain Dufferin School Old Boys. The original 1876 school building faced Berkeley Street. It was torn down in 1925 and replaced with a structure on Parliament Street, and renamed as Lord Dufferin School. In honoured memory of the boys of Dufferin School.
  • Inscription– His name as it is inscribed on the Vimy Memorial (2010). Over 11,000 fallen Canadians having no known place of burial in France, are honoured on this Memorial. May they never be forgotten. (J. Stephens)
  • Vimy Memorial– Canada's Vimy Memorial, located approximately 8 kilometres to the north-east of Arras, France. May the sacrifice of so many never be forgotten. (J. Stephens)

Learn more about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

To learn more please visit our help page. If you have questions or comments regarding the information contained in this registry, email or call us. For inquiries regarding the names and information found in the RCMP Honour Roll, please email the RCMP.

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