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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

William Crichton

In memory of:

Private William Crichton

January 2, 1917

Military Service


Service Number:

126482

Age:

21

Force:

Army

Unit:

Canadian Infantry (Manitoba Regiment)

Division:

44th Bn.

Additional Information


Born:

September 18, 1895

Son of Jane Crichton, of 27, North Main St., South Hadley Falls, Holyoke, Massachusetts, U.S.A., and the late Robert Crichton.

Brother of Private Robert Crichton, who died while serving with the Canadian Infantry (Alberta Regiment).

Commemorated on Page 222 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

  • Circumstances of death registers– Source: Library and Archives Canada. CIRCUMSTANCES OF DEATH REGISTERS, FIRST WORLD WAR Surnames: CRABB TO CROSSLAND Microform Sequence 24; Volume Number 31829_B016733. Reference RG150, 1992-93/314, 168. Page 515 of 788.
  • 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)
  • Photo of WILLIAM CRICHTON– From the Kitchener Public Library collection of World War One Soldier Information Cards. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Memorial– Remembering brothers lost … Brothers In Arms Memorial, Zonnebeke, BE … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens … May 2022
  • Galt War Memorial– The Cambridge (Galt) War Memorial, Queen's Square, Cambridge, Ontario.  Circa 1930. Frances Loring and William Lyon Somerville.

Inscribed:"TO THEM ALL HONOUR / GUARD YE THEIR VICTORY / 1914-1918 / 1939-1945 / 1950-1953."
  • Close up of Galt War Memorial– Detail of the Cambridge (Galt) War Memorial.
  • Photo of William Crichton– In memory of the men and women from the Waterloo area who went to war and did not come home. From the booklet, Peace Souvenir – Activities of Waterloo County in the Great War 1914 – 1918. From the Toronto Public Library collection.

Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me.
  • Waterloo Memorial Booklet– In memory of the men and women from the Waterloo area who went to war and did not come home. From the booklet, Peace Souvenir – Activities of Waterloo County in the Great War 1914 – 1918. From the Toronto Public Library collection.

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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