Military service
Burial/memorial information
Son of James Solomon and Martha (née Bollington) Trueman, of Bollington, Cheshire, England. He was educated in Bollington, a stone mason by trade. He served 3 years with the Cheshire Yeomanry. Brother of Wright, the eldest, who did not serve; James and Tom who both served with the 54th Battalion; Frank, who served with the British Army; Herbert, twin to Frank, served in the 1st and 7th Battalions of the Cheshire Regiments and was killed in France on 3 September 1918, William, who served with the 5th Battalion, King's Liverpool Regiment; Jane (Jenny); Harold and Stanley. Of his eight brothers, six served in the First World War, two with Canada, three with England. John, generally called Jack, was the first member of the Trueman family to settle at Dragon Lake near Quesnel, British Columbia. In the early 1900s he left England to visit his uncles, who resided in Skagit Valley, Washington State, U.S.A. From there he travelled north to the Yukon in search of a fortune. After a short stay he travelled overland south to Prince George and worked on the construction of the Grand Trunk Railroad.
Digital gallery of Private John Trueman
Digital gallery of
Private John Trueman
Digital gallery of
Private John Trueman
Digital gallery of
Private John Trueman
Digital gallery of
Private John Trueman
Image gallery
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 341 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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