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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Thomas John Gratton

In memory of:

Private Thomas John Gratton

August 21, 1917
France

Military Service


Service Number:

63381

Age:

37

Force:

Army

Unit:

Canadian Infantry (British Columbia Regiment)

Division:

29th Battalion

Citation(s):

Military Medal for Bravery in the Field, dated 9-12-1916: D.O., Pt.2 No. 4 D/-15-1-17. Auth: Supp. London Gazette. British War Medal, Victory Medal

Honours and Awards:

Military Medal

Additional Information


Born:

January 18, 1880
Barnstable, Devon, England

Enlistment:

October 27, 1914
Montreal, Quebec

Husband of Elizabeth Gratton (nee Tapp) of Montreal, Quebec and father of six children with another child expected shortly. While Private Gratton was in Europe, the newborn infant died after birth and 2 of the 5 young children died as well. Mrs. Gratton died a short eight months after her husband was killed in France. Son of William Henry and Thirza Gratton of Landkey, Devon, England. Private Gratton had seven brothers who also served in the Great War. Regretfully, three of them also died. They were L/Cpl Alfred Frank Gratton, Devonshire Regiment, deceased 6 October 1916; Pte William Lewis Gratton, Devonshire Regiment, deceased 13 March 1915 and Pte Sydney James Gratton, Australian Infantry, deceased 14 December 1916. The four brothers are also commemorated on a War Memorial in Landkey, Devon, England.

Commemorated on Page 246 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– Remembering brothers lost … Brothers In Arms Memorial, Zonnebeke, BE … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens … May 2022
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Montreal Star c.1917. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Montreal Star c. 1917. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • War Memorial– Photo of the War Memorial in Landkey, England.  This memorial commemorates nine soldiers from this small community who made the ultimate sacrifice for peace and freedom during WW1,  including the four Gratton brothers.  This photo was taken September 1st, 2001 during a visit to England.
  • Inscription– Inscription on the War Memorial in Landkey, England.
  • Family photo– This is a photo of Thomas John Gratton's younger brother Walter Charles Gratton with his wife Mabel Grace and their two children Richard Walter and Violet May taken sometime around 1915 in England.
  • Photo of Thomas John Gratton– This photo of Thomas John Gratton is one of the only known photos of him. The original is in the possession of his great-granddaughter in Montreal.  This picture is submitted in memory of him, his wife Eliza who also suffered greatly, and in memory of his 3 brothers who made the ultimate sacrifice during World War One.  Pte. Thomas John Gratton, and two of his brothers, lay in unmarked graves near Vimy Ridge.  His name is on the Canadian Vimy Memorial in France and is inscribed on Page 246 of the First World War Book of Remembrance Book on Parliament Hill.
The inscription on the back of the photo is as follows;
Thomas John Gratton, Born at Barnstaple, England, Jan 18, 1880
Married to Eliza Gratton.  Killed in action during the first World War - August 21, 1917.
  • Birth certificate

Learn more about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

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