Canoe River Memorial
Municipality/Province: Shilo, MB
Memorial number: 46001-017
Type: Cairn - concrete
Address: Royal Avenue
Location: Canoe River Memorial Park, Canadian Forces Base Shilo
GPS coordinates: Lat: 49.7977677 Long: -99.6464161
Submitted by: Joyce Carter
The Canoe River Memorial was erected by the 2nd Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, and is dedicated to the seventeen soldiers of the regiment killed in a train accident on the way from Shilo to Fort Lewis, Washington, on November 21, 1950. A sundial is placed in the top of the cairn.
A 17-car train filled with 23 officers and 315 men of the 2nd Regiment of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery headed from the Prairies to the coast to embark for Korea. At mid-morning, they approached Canoe River and began a long, winding curve ascent. From the opposite direction, the 11-car Vancouver-Montreal passenger train entered the same loop on a descent.
The locomotives met head-on. The forward cars of the military train were thrown down an embankment and demolished . In just seconds, 17 of the Canadian Contingent to Korea, one as young as 17, most of them in their early 20s, were dead or dying and 60 more injured. Four soldiers' bodies were never recovered.
The four CN Rail crew members were also killed and there were many injured gunners (33 non-walking and nine walking). There were no casualties to passengers on the East bound train.
Inscription found on memorial
IN MEMORIAM
THIS SUNDIAL PERPETUATES THE MEMORY
OF SEVENTEEN SOLDIERS OF
SECOND REGIMENT
ROYAL CANADIAN HORSE ARTILLERY
WHO DIED
ENROUTE FROM CAMP SHILO MANITOBA
TO FORT LEWIS WASHINGTON
IN THE TRAGIC RAILWAY DISASTER AT
CANOE RIVER BRITISH COLUMBIA
ON THE
TWENTY FIRST DAY OF NOVEMBER
NINETEEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY
L800229 GUNNER ARDEN JOSEPH ATCHISON
F800304 GUNNER WELDON EUGENE BARKHOUSE
L800113 GUNNER NORMAN WILLIAM CARROLL
N800142 GUNNER FREDERICK WILLIAM CONWAY
H800175 GUNNER ROBERT ARTHUR CRAIG
B800443 GUNNER AUSTIN EMERY GEORGE
G850098 GUNNER URBAIN JOSEPH LEVESQUE
B801941 GUNNER ROBERT WILLIAM MANLEY
C800081 GUNNER BASIL PATRICK MCKEOWN
D800444 GUNNER ALBERT WILLIAM ORR
D801127 GUNNER DAVID OWENS
N800061 GUNNER LESLIE ALBERT SNOW
B800515 GUNNER ALBERT GEORGE STROUD
N800193 GUNNER JOSEPH THISTLE
G800131 GUNNER JAMES MILO WENKERT
N800009 GUNNER JAMES JOSEPH WHITE
H800196 GUNNER WILLIAM DAVID WRIGHT
AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN
AND IN THE MORNING
WE SHALL REMEMBER THEM
Street view
Note
This information is provided by contributors and Veterans Affairs Canada makes it available as a service to the public. Veterans Affairs Canada is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or reliability of the information.
- Date modified: