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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Walter Herbert Boyce

In memory of:

Private Walter Herbert Boyce

April 23, 1917

Military Service


Service Number:

158035

Age:

26

Force:

Army

Unit:

4th Canadian Mounted Rifles (2nd Central Ontario Regt.)

Additional Information


Born:

January 30, 1891

Son of Mrs. Isabella Boyce, and the late William Albert Boyce, of 142, Eastern Avenue, Toronto.

Digitized service file.

Commemorated on Page 205 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

  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Telegram March 1916. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Telegram March 1916. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Telegram May 1917. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Telegram June 1917. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Memorial– Vimy Memorial … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens … May 2022
  • Memorial– Inscription - Vimy Memorial … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens … May 2022
  • Memorial– Mourning Mother - Vimy Memorial … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens … May 2022
  • Press Clipping
  • Death Registry– Source: Library and Archives Canada.  CIRCUMSTANCES OF DEATH REGISTERS FIRST WORLD WAR Surnames: Border to Boys. Mircoform Sequence 12; Volume Number 131829_B016721; Reference RG150, 1992-93/314, 156 Page 775 of 934.
  • Sons of England War Memorial– Designed by Charles Adamson in bronze and granite, the Sons of England war memorial is located on University Avenue at Elm Street in Toronto.  The inscription on this 1923 Memorial reads:   ¿ERECTED BY MEMBERS OF TORONTO DISTRICTS SONS OF ENGLAND BENEFIT SOCIETY IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR¿.
  • Close up of Sons of England War Memorial– Walter Herbert Boyce's name is included on the SOE War Memorial.
  • Memorial– Pte. Walter Herbert Boyce is remembered on the BOYCE family memorial located at St. John's (Norway) cemetery, Toronto, Ontario.
  • Memorial– His name as it is inscribed on the Vimy Memorial. Over 11,000 fallen Canadians having no known place of burial in France, are honoured on this Memorial. May they never be forgotten. (J. Stephens)

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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