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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Norman Frederick Murray

In memory of:

Pioneer Norman Frederick Murray

October 11, 1916

Military Service


Service Number:

103199

Age:

44

Force:

Army

Unit:

Canadian Pioneers

Division:

67th Pioneer Battalion.

Additional Information


Born:

March 31, 1872
Scotsburn, Pictou Co., Nova Scotia

Son of Angus Murray and his wife Jane Mackay, of Scotsburn and Truro, Nova Scotia. Educated at Truro Academy and Dalhousie College, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Was engaged in mining and civil engineering in British Columbia. Murray River and Murray Range in Northern British Columbia, Peace River District, has been named after him. Murray River: See "The Historic Land marks Association of Canada"-Annual Report, 1919, page 48. Murray Range: Department of Lands, Forest Branch, Victoria, British Columbia-Letter, 4th July, 1919, file 55702/06863.

Commemorated on Page 140 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

  • Inscription– Vimy Memorial - August 2012 … Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Mourning Mother– Vimy Memorial - August 2012 … Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Vimy Memorial– August 2012 … Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Inscription– His name as it is inscribed on the Vimy Memorial (2010). 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)

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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