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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Lionel Ward Whitehead

In memory of:

Captain Lionel Ward Whitehead

April 22, 1915

Military Service

Age:

26

Force:

Army

Unit:

Canadian Infantry (Quebec Regiment)

Division:

13th Bn.

Additional Information

Son of William Thomas Whitehead and his wife Anne Lilian Ward, of Montreal.

Commemorated on Page 41 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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  • Letter– Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me

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    Letter
    Letter – Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Letter– Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me

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    Letter
    Letter – Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Letter– Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me

    Details

    Letter
    Letter – Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Letter– Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me

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    Letter
    Letter – Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Document– Sketch 8 of Nicholson's text on the History of the Canadian Army in the Great War shows where the 13th Battalion was in place along the road to Poelcappelle when Captain Whitehead was mortally wounded. He was carried out by Lieutenant Pitablo, who was himself wounded, spending the rest of the war as a POW. Captain Whitehead died of his wounds.

    Details

    Document
    Document – Sketch 8 of Nicholson's text on the History of the Canadian Army in the Great War shows where the 13th Battalion was in place along the road to Poelcappelle when Captain Whitehead was mortally wounded. He was carried out by Lieutenant Pitablo, who was himself wounded, spending the rest of the war as a POW. Captain Whitehead died of his wounds.
  • Document– The "Unknown Captain" of the 13th Battalion (royal Highlanders of Canada) is buried in Plot 59 ROw D Grave 12 of the Tyne Cot (British) Cemetery in Belgium. Reference: Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Graves Registration Report Form 1834182.

    Details

    Document
    Document – The "Unknown Captain" of the 13th Battalion (royal Highlanders of Canada) is buried in Plot 59 ROw D Grave 12 of the Tyne Cot (British) Cemetery in Belgium. Reference: Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Graves Registration Report Form 1834182.
  • Document– The recovery of the remains of the Captain of the 13th Battalion were made at map coordinates 28.C.6.b.3.8, precisely where Captain Whitehead fell mortally wounded on 24 April 1915. Reference: Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Concentration of Graves (Exhumation and Reburials) Burial Return document 1836372.

    Details

    Document
    Document – The recovery of the remains of the Captain of the 13th Battalion were made at map coordinates 28.C.6.b.3.8, precisely where Captain Whitehead fell mortally wounded on 24 April 1915. Reference: Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Concentration of Graves (Exhumation and Reburials) Burial Return document 1836372.
  • Document– Two errors in the records of Captains of the 13th Battalion occurred that lead to a belief that Cpt. Whitehead was KIA on 22 April 1915 (CWGC Records). He was still alive on 24 April 1915 when Lt. Pitbaldo made every effort to rescue him but unfortunately had to leave him behind, thought to be mortally wounded, noted as Error #1. A subsequent review of the Archives of the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) shows that Cpt. Whitehead was taken by the Germans to Langemark as a POW (posted image). How long he survived is not known at this time but we are checking records in Belgium and Germany. As such, Cpt. Whitehead is not in Plot 59 Row D Grave 12 at Tyne Cot Cemetery, rather that is Captain Gerald Oscar Lees, the only Captain of the 13th Battalion left behind at the front lines on 24 April 1915 (his date of death was also incorrectly reported, thus Error #2).

    Details

    Document
    Document – Two errors in the records of Captains of the 13th Battalion occurred that lead to a belief that Cpt. Whitehead was KIA on 22 April 1915 (CWGC Records). He was still alive on 24 April 1915 when Lt. Pitbaldo made every effort to rescue him but unfortunately had to leave him behind, thought to be mortally wounded, noted as Error #1. A subsequent review of the Archives of the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) shows that Cpt. Whitehead was taken by the Germans to Langemark as a POW (posted image). How long he survived is not known at this time but we are checking records in Belgium and Germany. As such, Cpt. Whitehead is not in Plot 59 Row D Grave 12 at Tyne Cot Cemetery, rather that is Captain Gerald Oscar Lees, the only Captain of the 13th Battalion left behind at the front lines on 24 April 1915 (his date of death was also incorrectly reported, thus Error #2).
  • Circumstances of Death Registers– The E-103 appears to be incorrect as it states that Captain Whitehead was KIA on 22 April 1915. Detailed records of the 13th Battalion show that he was killed on 24 April 1915. The CWGC still reports the death of 22 April 1915.

    Details

    Circumstances of Death Registers
    Circumstances of Death Registers – The E-103 appears to be incorrect as it states that Captain Whitehead was KIA on 22 April 1915. Detailed records of the 13th Battalion show that he was killed on 24 April 1915. The CWGC still reports the death of 22 April 1915.
  • Memorial– Inscription on the Menin Gate … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

    Details

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

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