Language selection


Search veterans.gc.ca

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Hart Leech

In memory of:

Lieutenant Hart Leech

September 15, 1916

Military Service


Age:

27

Force:

Army

Unit:

1st Canadian Mounted Rifles (Saskatchewan Regt.)

Additional Information


Son of J. Hillyard Leech, K.C., and Ida L. Leech, of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Commemorated on Page 118 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– In memory of the men and women memorialized on the pages of the Winnipeg Evening Tribune during World War One. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Inscription– 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)
  • Vimy Memorial– Canada's Vimy Memorial, located approximately 8 kilometres to the north-east of Arras, France. May the sacrifice of so many never be forgotten. (J. Stephens)
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Telegram September 1916. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Photo of Hart Leech
  • Newspaper Clipping– In memory of the men and women memorialized on the pages of the Winnipeg Evening Tribune during World War One. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Letter– Last letter written by Lieutenant Hart Leech to his mother on 13 September 1916.  He was killed two days later.
  • Letter– Leech left law school in June 1915, enlisted as a private in the 61st Battalion, and received later received a commission in the 1st CMR.  His letter was found on his body by a British officer who put it in his kit bag meaning to mail it but was himself wounded.  He discovered it in 1928 and sent it to Leech¿s father.  This is the letter from the British officer.  It and Leech¿s letter were printed in The Manitoba Free Press 3 November 1928:

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.

Date modified: