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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Edward Donnick Roche

In memory of:

Private Edward Donnick Roche

August 15, 1917

Military Service


Service Number:

292031

Force:

Army

Unit:

Canadian Infantry (Saskatchewan Regiment)

Division:

5th Bn.

Additional Information


There is a gravestone in the Roman Catholic Cemetery at Merrickville, Ontario which bears the inscription 'Pte E.D. Roche buried in France in 1917'. Information courtesy of Merrickville Remembers Project, May 2002.

Commemorated on Page 318 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

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  • 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)
  • Merrickville Remembers– This project was sponsored jointly by the Canadian Legion Branch 245 and the Merrickville District Community Health Centre.  Serving on the Committee were Jack Jessop, Past President of Legion Branch 245;  Joyce McKay, who lost a brother in the Second World War;  Peter McKenna, Executive Director of Merrickville and District Community Health Centre;  and Jack Wilcox, who upon discharge from the Canadian Army in 1945, prepared the Sydney Academy Memorial Booklet honouring the students of the Academy who gave their lives in the Second World War.
  • Memorial Page– Edward Donnick Roche is honoured on page 22 of the Merrickville Remembers booklet, published in January 2003.

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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