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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

John Swinton

In memory of:

Lieutenant John Swinton

February 14, 1917
Souchez, France

Military Service


Age:

35

Force:

Army

Unit:

Canadian Infantry (Alberta Regiment)

Division:

50th Bn.

Additional Information


Born:

September 1, 1881
Springfield, Cupar, Fife, Scotland

Enlistment:

November 16, 1914
Calgary, Alberta

Son of William and the late Isabella of Belmore Cottage, Cupar. Lieutenant Swinton was the brother of James, William and Janet. John served his apprenticeship as a draper, with Mr. Andrew Russell, Bonnygate, Cupar. Thereafter he went to London and worked for some years in a big drapery store. Emigrating to Canada, he stettled in Calgary, Alberta, where he worked in the same store as the son of his former employer in Cupar and for which he became a traveller. Finally, he went into real estate and had a most successful career, which ended with the outbreak of the War in August 1914. On enlistment he gave his trade as broker and stated he was single. He sailed overseas on the S.S. Carpathia and arrived at Shorncliffe Station, England on 29 May 1915.

Commemorated on Page 335 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– 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)
  • Memorabilia– Collection related to Lieut. John Swinton killed in a Vimy raid in Feb. 1917

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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