This plaque is dedicated to the memory of Lieutenant John Douglas Armstrong, Canadian Engineers.
Lieutenant Armstrong was the son of the Rev. Dr. W. D. Armstrong and Mrs. Armstrong of Ottawa. He studied civil engineering at McGill University and in his senior year was president of the Undergraduate Society. He worked first with the Dominion Bridge Company, and then the Surveyor General’s staff. Lieut. Armstrong was well known in Ottawa musical circles, a member of St. Andrew’s Church choir for two years, and rowed with the Britannia Rowing Club.
Prior to his enlistment in January 1916, Lieut. Armstrong was an Engineer with the 34th Field Company of the Militia. He received his commission in January 1916, trained through the winter at Lansdowne Park, and went overseas in May 1916 with the Canadian Engineers. Mentioned in dispatches, Lieut. Armstrong and Lieut. Alan Johnston were the only two members of the company to come through the Somme offensive unscathed. At 27, he was killed in action at Vimy Ridge on Easter Monday, April 9, 1917. He is buried at Villers Station Cemetery.
