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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Cecil Kirkpatrick

In memory of:

Private Cecil Kirkpatrick

August 13, 1918

Military Service

Service Number:

3206362

Force:

Army

Unit:

Canadian Infantry (Alberta Regiment)

Division:

49th Bn.

Additional Information

Commemorated on Page 442 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

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  • Inscription– His name as it is inscribed on the Vimy Memorial. 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)

    Details

    Inscription
    Inscription – His name as it is inscribed on the Vimy Memorial. 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)

    Details

    Vimy Memorial
    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)
  • The Nanton Cenotaph– In 1926 Albert J. Hart was commissioned to create a memorial to honour the memory of those Nanton and District citizens who were killed in action during World War I. The 6.5¿¿ high statue is of Carara Italian marble and features a soldier at rest, with arms reversed in the position that would have been assumed at the burial of a comrade. It rests on a pedestal of B.C. granite. Plaques list the names of those who did not return from both wars. As well, there is a plaque honouring those who served in the Korean War. The location originally chosen for the cenotaph was next to the sidewalk that linked Shaw Street, Nanton's main street, and the Canadian Pacific Railway Station. This was most appropriate as the railway was well used at the time and hundreds of residents and visitors alike would pass the silent soldier during a day. The cenotaph was unveiled August 13, 1927 by the Earl of Haddington. Mayor J.T. Cooper presided over the ceremonies and R.B. Bennett, who would go on to become the Prime Minister of Canada, gave the principal address. Annual Remembrance Day Services have been held at the cenotaph ever since. With the closure of the railway station and the transformation of Railway Avenue into a major highway, the cenotaph's location became less and less appropriate during the latter half of the twentieth century. With the co-operation of Nanton's No. 80 Branch, Royal Canadian Legion, the Town of Nanton, and the Nanton Lancaster Society the cenotaph was carefully dismantled and the statue cleaned. It was then re-erected in Centennial Park at the entrance to the air museum in time for the 2001 Remembrance Day Service. www.lancastermuseum.ca

    Details

    The Nanton Cenotaph
    The Nanton Cenotaph – In 1926 Albert J. Hart was commissioned to create a memorial to honour the memory of those Nanton and District citizens who were killed in action during World War I. The 6.5¿¿ high statue is of Carara Italian marble and features a soldier at rest, with arms reversed in the position that would have been assumed at the burial of a comrade. It rests on a pedestal of B.C. granite. Plaques list the names of those who did not return from both wars. As well, there is a plaque honouring those who served in the Korean War. The location originally chosen for the cenotaph was next to the sidewalk that linked Shaw Street, Nanton's main street, and the Canadian Pacific Railway Station. This was most appropriate as the railway was well used at the time and hundreds of residents and visitors alike would pass the silent soldier during a day. The cenotaph was unveiled August 13, 1927 by the Earl of Haddington. Mayor J.T. Cooper presided over the ceremonies and R.B. Bennett, who would go on to become the Prime Minister of Canada, gave the principal address. Annual Remembrance Day Services have been held at the cenotaph ever since. With the closure of the railway station and the transformation of Railway Avenue into a major highway, the cenotaph's location became less and less appropriate during the latter half of the twentieth century. With the co-operation of Nanton's No. 80 Branch, Royal Canadian Legion, the Town of Nanton, and the Nanton Lancaster Society the cenotaph was carefully dismantled and the statue cleaned. It was then re-erected in Centennial Park at the entrance to the air museum in time for the 2001 Remembrance Day Service. www.lancastermuseum.ca

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