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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Burns Ker Weld Thomson

In memory of:

Major Burns Ker Weld Thomson

September 15, 1916

Military Service


Age:

34

Force:

Army

Unit:

1st Canadian Mounted Rifles (Saskatchewan Regt.)

Additional Information


Son of Thomas and Minnie Thomson, of Drogo, Chateau Apartments, Montreal, Province Quebec; husband of Adelaide S. Meeres (formerly Thomson) (nee Hett), of Eildon Hall, Sutton West, Ontario.

Commemorated on Page 173 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– Photo from the National Memorial Album of Canadian Heroes c.1919. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me.
  • Photo of BURNS KER WELD THOMSON– Photo from the National Memorial Album of Canadian Heroes c.1919. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me.
  • Photo of Burns K. Thomson– From The War Book of Upper Canada College, edited by Archibald Hope Young, Toronto, 1923.  This book is a Roll of Honour including former students who served during the First World War.
  • Photo of BURNS KER WELD THOMSON– From the Toronto Star. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Star. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Press clipping
  • Memorial Tablet– Major Burns K. Thomson is remembered on this brass Memorial Tablet. It was unveiled on May 1, 1921 in memory of Upper Canada College students who died on active service during  the First World War.  Upper Canada College is located in Toronto, Ontario.
  • Vimy Memorial– Vimy Memorial - August 2012 … Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Vimy Memorial– Mourning Mother - Vimy Memorial - August 2012 … Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Inscription– Inscription - Vimy Memorial - August 2012 … Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

Learn more about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

To learn more please visit our help page. If you have questions or comments regarding the information contained in this registry, email or call us. For inquiries regarding the names and information found in the RCMP Honour Roll, please email the RCMP.

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