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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

George Alexandre Jeannotte

In memory of:

Private George Alexandre Jeannotte

November 6, 1917

Military Service

Service Number:

1001066

Force:

Army

Unit:

Canadian Infantry (Manitoba Regiment)

Division:

16th Bn.

Additional Information

Commemorated on Page 263 of the First World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information

Cemetery:

MENIN GATE (YPRES) MEMORIAL
Belgium

Grave Reference:

Panel 24 - 26 - 28 - 30

Location:


The Menin Gate Memorial is situated at the eastern side of the town of Ypres (now Ieper) in the Province of West Flanders, on the road to Menin and Courtrai. It bears the names of 55,000 men who were lost without trace during the defence of the Ypres Salient in the First World War. Designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and erected by the Imperial (now Commonwealth) War Graves Commission, it consists of a Hall of Memory", 36.6 metres long by 20.1 metres wide. In the centre are broad staircases leading to the ramparts which overlook the moat, and to pillared loggias which run the whole length of the structure. On the inner walls of the Hall, on the side of the staircases and on the walls of the loggias, panels of Portland stone bear the names of the dead, inscribed by regiment and corps. Carved in stone above the central arch are the words:


TO THE ARMIES OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE WHO STOOD HERE FROM 1914 TO 1918 AND TO THOSE OF THEIR DEAD WHO HAVE NO KNOWN GRAVE.

Over the two staircases leading from the main Hall is the inscription:

HERE ARE RECORDED NAMES OF OFFICERS AND MEN WHO FELL IN YPRES SALIENT BUT TO WHOM THE FORTUNE OF WAR DENIED THE KNOWN AND HONOURED BURIAL GIVEN TO THEIR COMRADES IN DEATH.

The dead are remembered to this day in a simple ceremony that takes place every evening at 8:00 p.m. All traffic through the gateway in either direction is halted, and two buglers (on special occasions four) move to the centre of the Hall and sound the Last Post. Two silver trumpets for use in the ceremony are a gift to the Ypres Last Post Committee by an officer of the Royal Canadian Artillery, who served with the 10th Battery, of St. Catharines, Ontario, in Ypres in April 1915."

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Digital Collection

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  • Memorial– Inscription on the Menin Gate … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

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    Memorial
    Memorial – Inscription on the Menin Gate … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Inscription– George Alexander Jeannotte Menin Gate

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    Inscription
    Inscription – George Alexander Jeannotte Menin Gate
  • Grave marker– A photograph the graves in Row A at the Track "X" Cemetery has been marked to show the names of those killed and buried. The grave marked "Unknown Canadian" is the grave of Private Jeannotte of the 16th Canadian Infantry Battalion.

    Details

    Grave marker
    Grave marker – A photograph the graves in Row A at the Track "X" Cemetery has been marked to show the names of those killed and buried. The grave marked "Unknown Canadian" is the grave of Private Jeannotte of the 16th Canadian Infantry Battalion.
  • Graves registration form– Graves Registration Report 1832748 shows an Unknown 16th Battalion soldier killed on 4 November 1917, along with four (4) known men of the same unit. There were only four (4) men of the battalion killed that day, thus the fourth man was Private George Alexander Jeannotte (graves 3, 4, 5, 6). A fifth man, Private Omey Ferguson #754291, of the 124th Pioneer Battalion, was also killed that day (grave 2), working on the same project.

    Details

    Graves registration form
    Graves registration form – Graves Registration Report 1832748 shows an Unknown 16th Battalion soldier killed on 4 November 1917, along with four (4) known men of the same unit. There were only four (4) men of the battalion killed that day, thus the fourth man was Private George Alexander Jeannotte (graves 3, 4, 5, 6). A fifth man, Private Omey Ferguson #754291, of the 124th Pioneer Battalion, was also killed that day (grave 2), working on the same project.
  • Wartime diary– The war diary of the 16th Infantry Battalion records the death of the three (3) men of the 16th Battalion killed on 6 November 1917 (not the 4th as on the GRRF), while serving on a "working party". There was another man missing in action, that being Private Jeannotte. They were working east of Wieltje, Belgium (trench map sector 28.C.28.b) on the road to Passchendaele when they were killed near Spree Farm (trench map sector 28.C.18.d).

    Details

    Wartime diary
    Wartime diary – The war diary of the 16th Infantry Battalion records the death of the three (3) men of the 16th Battalion killed on 6 November 1917 (not the 4th as on the GRRF), while serving on a "working party". There was another man missing in action, that being Private Jeannotte. They were working east of Wieltje, Belgium (trench map sector 28.C.28.b) on the road to Passchendaele when they were killed near Spree Farm (trench map sector 28.C.18.d).
  • Wartime diary– The war diary of the 124th Pioneer Battalion, with whom the 16th Battalion was working on the road, records the shelling that occured, leading to many casualties. One of those was Private Ferguson (124th Bn - grave 2), buried close to Private Jannotte (16th Bn - grave 4).

    Details

    Wartime diary
    Wartime diary – The war diary of the 124th Pioneer Battalion, with whom the 16th Battalion was working on the road, records the shelling that occured, leading to many casualties. One of those was Private Ferguson (124th Bn - grave 2), buried close to Private Jannotte (16th Bn - grave 4).
  • Map– An extract of the trench map from the McMaster University collection has been marked to show the location where the men were working on the Plank Road (trench map coordinates 28.D.14.b.25.85) on the road between Spree Farm and Gravenstafel. The villages of Wieltje, Zonnebeke and Passchendaele are marked for reference.

    Details

    Map
    Map – An extract of the trench map from the McMaster University collection has been marked to show the location where the men were working on the Plank Road (trench map coordinates 28.D.14.b.25.85) on the road between Spree Farm and Gravenstafel. The villages of Wieltje, Zonnebeke and Passchendaele are marked for reference.
  • Circumstances of death registers– The "Circumstance of Death" for Private Jeannotte reports that he was "previously reported missing, believed killed, now for official purposes presumed to have died". The document generically refers to this as the "Attack at Passchendaele", which was the ongoing major battle at that time. Private Jeannotte was working on the construction team when he was killed by the enemy artillery, not in the front line trenches.

    Details

    Circumstances of death registers
    Circumstances of death registers – The "Circumstance of Death" for Private Jeannotte reports that he was "previously reported missing, believed killed, now for official purposes presumed to have died". The document generically refers to this as the "Attack at Passchendaele", which was the ongoing major battle at that time. Private Jeannotte was working on the construction team when he was killed by the enemy artillery, not in the front line trenches.
  • Circumstances of death registers– The remains of Private Jeannotte were not "knowingly" recovered at the time of his death, thus his name was recorded on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial for the missing. A report has now been prepared for submission to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to have his name removed from the memorial and the headstone replaced at Track "X" Cemetery (grave A.4).

    Details

    Circumstances of death registers
    Circumstances of death registers – The remains of Private Jeannotte were not "knowingly" recovered at the time of his death, thus his name was recorded on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial for the missing. A report has now been prepared for submission to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to have his name removed from the memorial and the headstone replaced at Track "X" Cemetery (grave A.4).

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