Military service
Burial/memorial information
Written to his widow Ada Broom, 6 October 1916.
Dear Mrs. Broom:
I have your letter of the 28th September, asking for particulars of the death of your husband Sgt. Broom of this regiment. Your husband was killed on the afternoon of the 16 Sept, at about 4 p.m., near Battalion Headquarters in the Sunken Road, about 600 yds West of Courcelette.
He was acting as Company Sergeant Major of 'A' Company, which was lying at the spot in Battalion Reserve. He died shortly after being hit and is buried near that place.
On the day of question, your husband had acted throughout with great gallantry. He was always on hand when required and busied himself in the safety of others and in the diligent performance of his duties.
Had he lived, I should have had great pleasure in recommending him for an honour and promotion to the rank of Lieutenant. In his death, this Battalion has lost a very fine soldier and on behalf of all ranks in this Regiment I desire to extend to you our sincere sympathy.
He was buried during this engagement in a common grave in which all the officers, N.C.O.'s and men of this Battalion were buried. Perhaps I may say to you, that as a soldier he is as content, sleeping as he does with his comrades about him on the field of battle on which he had behaved so well as he would be sleeping in England or elsewhere.
Yours faithfully,
Commander 49th Canadian Edmonton Regiment.
Digitized service file.
Digital gallery of Sergeant Cosby Ernest Broom
Digital gallery of
Sergeant Cosby Ernest Broom
Digital gallery of
Sergeant Cosby Ernest Broom
Digital gallery of
Sergeant Cosby Ernest Broom
Digital gallery of
Sergeant Cosby Ernest Broom
Digital gallery of
Sergeant Cosby Ernest Broom
Image gallery
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 59 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.
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