Military service
Burial/memorial information
Son of Thomas Deschênes and Annie Rivard of Shawinigan, Québec.
On his enlistment form, he declared being born in Shawinigan Falls and pretended to be three years older.
Enlisted in the 22nd Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, he left for Great Britain on May 20, 1915, arriving in Plymouth, England, on the 29th. On September 15, he landed in Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais, France. On November 1, 1915, in the trenches of Kemmel, West Flanders, Belgium, he was accidentally wounded in the right foot by a bullet fired by a comrade. Evacuated to England on the 5th, he was assigned to the 23rd Reserve Battalion on December 10. Returning to his original unit, he went back to the front line on June 29, 1916. He was killed in action on September 16, 1916, at Brickfields during the Battle of Courcelette.
Digital gallery of Private Alphonse Deschênes
Digital gallery of
Private Alphonse Deschênes
Digital gallery of
Private Alphonse Deschênes
Image gallery
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 77 of the First World War Book of Remembrance.
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VIMY MEMORIAL Pas de Calais, France
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:
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.
For more information, visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The Poppy Design is a trademark of The Royal Canadian Legion (Dominion Command) and is used with permission. Click here to learn more about the poppy.
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