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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

William Thornton Purkis

In memory of:

Lieutenant William Thornton Purkis

July 9, 1944

Military Service

Age:

29

Force:

Army

Unit:

Royal Canadian Artillery

Additional Information

Son of Thornton and Clara S. Purkis, of Toronto, Ontario.

Lieutenant William Thornton Purkis has been honoured by having Purkis Creek named after him. The location of Purkis Creek is in Yukon (117A10- 68° 43’ 49”- 137° 26’ 07”).

Commemorated on Page 422 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information

Cemetery:

BENY-SUR-MER CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY
Calvados, France

Grave Reference:

XII. A. 1.

Location:

Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery is about 1 kilometre east of the village of Reviers, on the Creully-Tailleville-Ouistreham road (D.35). Reviers is a village and commune in the Department of the Calvados. It is located 15 kilometres north-west of Caen and 18 kilometres east of Bayeux and 3.5 kilometres south of Courseulles, a village on the sea coast. The village of Beny-sur-Mer is some 2 kilometres south-east of the cemetery. The bus service between Caen and Arromanches (via Reviers and Ver-sur-Mer) passes the cemetery.

It was on the coast just to the north that the 3rd Canadian Division landed on 6th June 1944; on that day, 335 officers and men of that division were killed in action or died of wounds. In this cemetery are the graves of Canadians who gave their lives in the landings in Normandy and in the earlier stages of the subsequent campaign. Canadians who died during the final stages of the fighting in Normandy are buried in Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery.

There are a total of 2,048 burials in Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery. There is also one special memorial erected to a soldier of the Canadian Infantry Corps who is known to have been buried in this cemetery, but the exact site of whose grave could not be located.

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Digital Collection

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  • Newspaper clipping– Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

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    Newspaper clipping
    Newspaper clipping – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Telegram– Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

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    Telegram
    Telegram – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Correspondence– Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

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    Correspondence
    Correspondence – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Other– Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

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    Other
    Other – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Star May 1941. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

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    Newspaper clipping
    Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Star May 1941. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Star May 1941. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

    Details

    Newspaper clipping
    Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Star May 1941. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Star July 1944. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

    Details

    Newspaper clipping
    Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Star July 1944. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Memorial– This stone stele is located in the chapel of Trinity College in the University of Toronto. “AS DYING AND BEHOLD WE LIVE”, “TO THE MEMORY OF THOSE MEMBERS OF THIS COLLEGE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE TWO GREAT WARS”. Photo: Mana Sadeghipour, courtesy of Alumni Relations, University of Toronto.

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    Memorial
    Memorial – This stone stele is located in the chapel of Trinity College in the University of Toronto. “AS DYING AND BEHOLD WE LIVE”, “TO THE MEMORY OF THOSE MEMBERS OF THIS COLLEGE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE TWO GREAT WARS”. Photo: Mana Sadeghipour, courtesy of Alumni Relations, University of Toronto.
  • Grave marker– Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens … May 2022

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    Grave marker
    Grave marker – Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens … May 2022
  • Cemetery– Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens … May 2022

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    Cemetery
    Cemetery – Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens … May 2022
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Telegram 1944. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

    Details

    Newspaper clipping
    Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Telegram 1944. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Telegram 1944. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

    Details

    Newspaper clipping
    Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Telegram 1944. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper Clipping– Memorialized on the pages of the Globe and Mail. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me

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    Newspaper Clipping
    Newspaper Clipping – Memorialized on the pages of the Globe and Mail. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery– The Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, located at Reviers, about 4 kilometres from Juno Beach in Normandy, France. (J. Stephens)

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    Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery
    Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery – The Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, located at Reviers, about 4 kilometres from Juno Beach in Normandy, France. (J. Stephens)
  • Grave Marker– The grave marker (2010) at the Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, located outside Reviers, about 4 kilometres from Juno Beach in Normandy, France. May he rest in peace. (K. Falconer & J. Stephens)

    Details

    Grave Marker
    Grave Marker – The grave marker (2010) at the Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, located outside Reviers, about 4 kilometres from Juno Beach in Normandy, France. May he rest in peace. (K. Falconer & J. Stephens)

Learn more about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

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