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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Sidney Alfred Tonkin

In memory of:

Private Sidney Alfred Tonkin

August 24, 1917

Military Service


Service Number:

447657

Age:

22

Force:

Army

Unit:

Canadian Infantry (Alberta Regiment)

Additional Information


Born:

June 27, 1895

Son of J. William and Annie L. Tonkin, of Toronto, Ontario.

Commemorated on Page 340 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

  • Photo of Sydney Alfred Tonkin– as a young boy. Photo undated.
  • 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)
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Telegram May 1917. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Telegram September 1917. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Telegram April 1918. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Photo of Sidney Alfred Tonkin– Private Sidney Alfred Tonkin #447657
Enlisted in 56 Bty. at Calgary on October 4th, 1915
Left for overseas on  March 1916
Left for France in March of 1917
Joined 50th Battalion on March 22, 1917
Wounded on May 1917
Missing in Action on August 24, 1917
  • Newspaper Clipping– Article
  • Newspaper Clipping (2)– Toronto Star for 2 April 1918, page 8.
  • Newspaper Clipping (3)
  • Commemorative Plaque– Humberside Collegiate Institute, Toronto, Ontario
  • High Park Methodist Church– 1914 - 1918 Memorial Plaque for High Park Methodist Church, 260 High Park 
Ave., Toronto, Ontario.   The Memorial Plaque was unveiled in 1924 by 
Nursing Sister Pat Tuckett, and a Memorial Organ was presented by the 
Women's Association.   Those who died (38 names) are listed on the centre 
panel with the names of those who served on the side panels.   The first 
services at this location were held in October 1908.  The church  became 
High Park Avenue United Church in 1925, and High Park-Alhambra in 1970.

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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