Language selection


Search veterans.gc.ca

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

William Thomas Simmonds

In memory of:

Sergeant William Thomas Simmonds

April 12, 1918

Military Service


Service Number:

349

Age:

28

Force:

Army

Unit:

Royal Newfoundland Regiment

Additional Information


Son of James and Jessie Simmonds; husband of Lily V. Simmonds, of St. John's, Newfoundland.

Commemorated on Page 113 of the Newfoundland Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information


Cemetery:

BEAUMONT-HAMEL (NEWFOUNDLAND) MEMORIAL
Somme, France

Grave Reference:

N/A

Location:

The largest of the battlefield parks established in memory of Newfoundlanders who fell in the First World War is Beaumont Hamel, nine kilometres directly north of the town of Albert. In BEAUMONT HAMEL MEMORIAL PARK, which was officially opened by Earl Haig on June 7, 1925, the monument of the great bronze caribou, emblem of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, stands on the highest point overlooking St John's Road and the slopes beyond. At the base of the statue three tablets of bronze carry the names of over 800 members of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve, and the Mercantile Marine who gave their lives in the First World War and have no known grave. In the lodge, which houses the reception room for visitors to the Park, a bronze plaque, unveiled in 1961 by the Hon. Joseph Smallwood, Premier of Newfoundland, lists the Battle Honours won by the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and pays tribute to its fallen. The park is one of the few in France or Belgium where the visitor can see a Great War battlefield much as it was. The actual trenches are still there and something of the terrible problem of advancing over such country can be appreciated by the visitor. On the first day of the Battle of the Somme, no unit suffered heavier losses than the Newfoundland Regiment, which had gone into action 801 strong. When the roll call of the unwounded was taken next day, only 68 answered their names. The final figures that revealed the virtual annihilation of the Battalion gave a grim count of 233 killed or dead of wounds, 386 wounded, and 91 missing. Every officer who went forward in the Newfoundland attack was either killed or wounded.

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Digital Collection

Send us your images

  • Beaumont-Hamel Memorial
  • Entrance
  • Inscription on Beaumont-Hamel Memorial
  • Royal Newfoundland Regiment Insignia– In memory of the men who served in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment
during World War I and did not return home.
  • Biography– In memory of the men who served in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during World War I and did not return home.
  • Family Photo– William Thomas Simmonds, wife Lily Vistoria Marshall Simmonds, sons William Thomas,born 1915 and James Douglas, born 1817. My great grand mother was probably pregnant with my grandmother Ruth Mary in this picture as great grand father was killed April 12,1918 and Ruth was born on October 15, 1918.
  • Family Photo– This is Sgt. William Thomas Simmonds #349 of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment with his wife Lily and sons. He was killed in action shortly after this photo was taken, in April 1918 at the age of 25. His wife was pregnant when he died and the baby was born 5 months after his death. My thanks to his family for giving me the privilege of restoring and posting this photo. Lest we forget.

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.

Date modified: