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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Leslie Angus Cecil Wilkinson

In memory of:

Corporal Leslie Angus Cecil Wilkinson

April 30, 1941

Military Service


Service Number:

P/4516

Age:

26

Force:

Army

Unit:

Corps of Military Staff Clerks

Additional Information


Son of Cecil H. and Janet Hindle Wilkinson, of Kingston, Ontario; husband of Edith Ruth Wilkinson, of Toronto, Ontario.

Commemorated on Page 48 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information


Cemetery:

HALIFAX MEMORIAL
Nova Scotia, Canada

Grave Reference:

Panel 14.

Location:

The HALIFAX MEMORIAL in Nova Scotia's capital, erected in Point Pleasant Park, is one of the few tangible reminders of the men who died at sea. Twenty-four ships were lost by the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War and nearly 2,000 members of the RCN lost their lives. This Memorial was erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and was unveiled in November 1967 with naval ceremony by H.P. MacKeen, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, in the presence of R. Teillet, then Minister of Veterans Affairs. The monument is a great granite Cross of Sacrifice over 12 metres high, clearly visible to all ships approaching Halifax. The cross is mounted on a large podium bearing 23 bronze panels upon which are inscribed the names of over 3,000 Canadian men and women who were buried at sea. The dedicatory inscription, in French and English, reads as follows:

1914-1939
1918-1945
IN THE HONOUR OF
THE MEN AND WOMEN
OF THE NAVY
ARMY AND MERCHANT NAVY
OF CANADA
WHOSE NAMES
ARE INSCRIBED HERE
THEIR GRAVES ARE UNKNOWN
BUT THEIR MEMORY
SHALL ENDURE.

On June 19, 2003, the Government of Canada designated September 3rd of each year as a day to acknowledge the contribution of Merchant Navy Veterans.

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Digital Collection

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  • Newspaper Clipping– Memorialized on the pages of the Globe and Mail. 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
  • Halifax Memorial– Cpl Wilkinson was one of the 73 Canadian military who lost their lives when the SS Nerissa was sunk after being struck by German torpedoes off the coast of Ireland.  It was making its way across the North Atlantic without escort to England.  The ship was carrying a mix of military and civilian passengers, including children.  It is the only time Canadian troops were lost crossing to the U.K.
  • Attestation paper– Wilkinson's attestation paper was signed in Halifax on the 3rd of October 1939.
  • Death Certificate– Cpl Wilkinson's death was registered in Nova Scotia.
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Telegram May 1941. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Telegram May 1941. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

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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