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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Philip Somerville

In memory of:

Private Philip Somerville

October 8, 1916

Military Service


Service Number:

451432

Age:

21

Force:

Army

Unit:

Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment)

Division:

58th Bn.

Additional Information


Born:

June 7, 1894

Son of the Rev. Henry Ernest Simmonds Somerville, of Toledo, Ohio, U.S.A., and his wife Margaret Perley Willis, of Toronto. He belonged to a family of British sailors, and his two brothers served with the American Army in the Great War.

Commemorated on Page 166 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

  • Memorial– Photo from the National Memorial Album of Canadian Heroes c.1919. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me.
  • Photo of PHILIP SOMERVILLE– Photo from the National Memorial Album of Canadian Heroes c.1919. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me.
  • 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)
  • War Memorial– World War One memorial tablet, St. Paul's (Anglican), Bloor St. East, Toronto, Ontario. One of two memorial tablets set within a spectacular carved alabaster chancel screen. Erected in memory of the men of St. Paul's who died during the first World War and unveiled in March 1926. Each alabaster tablet incorporates mosaic work depicting kneeling angels holding a laurel wreath and a torch. Seventy-six names in total were listed by date of death. Inscribed: 'DYING AND BEHOLD WE LIVE', and 'So he passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side.' (John Bunyan).
  • Inscription– World War One memorial tablet set in the chancel screen at St. Paul's (Anglican), Toronto, Ontario. The screen is in three sections, with the two outside sections displaying the tablets. The chancel screen includes statues of twelve historic figures including Admiral Earl Beatty, King George V, Earl Kitchener, Marshal Foch, Earl Haig, and Lord Byng of Vimy. The screen was the work of Messrs. J. Wippell & Co., of Exeter, England.

The great chancel war memorial windows are located above. These are inscribed: 'To the Greater Glory of God and in Everlasting Remembrance of the Men of St. Paul's Parish who gave their lives in Defence of Justice, Liberty and Truth, A.D. 1914-1919.' They were unveiled in 1921 by the Governor-General of Canada, Baron Byng of Vimy. Another World War One memorial window in honour of the men named on the tablets is located on the east wall of the Nave. The panels include fragments of glass from 70 buildings in the war zones. It was unveiled by Baron Byng of Vimy in 1922. Both windows were manufactured by Robert McCausland Ltd. of Toronto.

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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