Historic Sites of Manitoba: 11th Canadian Field Ambulance War Memorial (University of Manitoba, Winnipeg)

Located on the Fort Garry Campus of the University of Manitoba, this monument was formerly located at the east end of the Avenue of Elms (Chancellor Matheson Road), on the grounds in front of the Administration Building, and across from the Manitoba Agricultural College War Memorial. The 196th Overseas Battalion (also known as Western Universities Battalion) included the 11th Canadian Field Ambulance (CFA), and was formed by men of the Manitoba Agricultural College, along with those mobilized from other Western Canada universities.

The Tyndall stone pillar stands about four feet tall and features the engraved names of fallen battalion comrades of the First World War who died during their time in the unit or subsequently elsewhere as part of the Great War. The north, east, and south faces bear the faded names, with the western facade adorned only by the Red Cross emblem. The eastern face also features the emblem of the Canadian Army Medical Corps, and the memorial was initially capped with a bronze sundial. It was designed by CFA serviceman Christopher Thomas “Chris” Best (1889-1969), later a Winnipeg School Division teacher at Daniel McIntyre Collegiate (1923-1929, 1930-1943) and St. John’s High School (1929-1930).

The formal unveiling took place on 16 October 1927 before a crowd including Colonel George Randolph Pearkes VC, Colonel Snell, and around 100 CFA battalion members. It was unveiled by Huntley Douglas Brodie Ketchen, the Officer Commanding of Military District No. 10 and President of the 11th Field Ambulance Association, followed with a dedication prayer by Reverend A. R. Hall.

In 1950, when a new wing (Macdonald Wing) of the Engineering Building was built, the monument was relocated to a raised plaza between the University Centre and the Faculty of Nursing Building / Helen Glass Centre for Nursing.

11th Canadian Field Ambulance War Memorial (May 2018) Source: Nathan Kramer Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.80917, W97.13531 denoted by symbol on the map above

11th Field Ambulance Casualties (Canadian Army Medical Corps)

Name	Occupation	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
Harry Blackburn Adderley [Next of Kin]	Foreman Carpenter	Sergeant	9 July 1887	13 May 1918
Alwyn Clarence Brewer	Bookkeeper	Private	12 May 1889	20 October 1918
Charles Bryan [Miami]	Theology Student	Corporal	14 March 1890	13 October 1916
Robert Thomas Campbell	Druggist Assistant	Private	14 January 1889	27 October 1917
Harold Cormick	Bookkeeper	Private	30 June 1896	14 November 1917
Charlie Ronald Dier	Student	Private	16 April 1897	28 June 1917
James Frederick “Fred” Forster	Clerk	Driver	4 September 1895	1 March 1919
Samuel Grills	Principal, McCauley School, Edmonton	Private	3 October 1882	6 December 1918
John Ralph Hammond	Medical Student	Sergeant	5 December 1893	26 June 1917
Samuel Hanson	Bookkeeper	Private	2 October 1891	26 June 1917
George William Hepworth [Shoal Lake, Strathclair, Medical College]	Medical Student	Private	16 December 1894	6 July 1917
Albert James Higgs	Printer	Private	17 January 1889	2 September 1918
James Gordon Hill	Student	Private	27 January 1891	28 November 1916
Nelson Jarvis [Eatons, Next of Kin]	Clerk & Stenographer	Private	4 June 1887	29 September 1918
William Arthur Johnson MM	Carpenter	Private	13 December 1890	28 September 1918
George King	stationary Engineer	Private	20 November 1890	1 October 1918
James Reid Locke	Student	Private	11 October 1897	30 September 1918
Ian Cameron Mallough	Student	Private	5 May 1896	14 November 1917
Heber Havelock Moshier	Professor of Physiology, University of Alberta	Lieutenant Colonel	11 January 1889	29 August 1918
Colin Stewart Murray	Student	Private	16 October 1894	26 June 1917
Frank Samuel Occomore DCF	Medical Student	Second Lieutenant	24 January 1890	1 October 1918
Daniel Fleming Pack [Brandon College, Medical College]	Medical Student	Private	30 December 1894	12 September 1917
William Ross Pringle	Bank clerk	Private	1 May 1889	29 September 1918
Kelby Roseboro	Student	Private	22 December 1897	27 July 1918
Joseph Lawrence Smith [Lac du Bonnet]	Arts Student	Flight Cadet	26 January 1894	17 July 1918
Cecil Beacham Spencer	Teamster	Driver	3 June 1897	4 March 1919
William Slater Turner	Theology Student	Private	23 September 1894	27 September 1918
Ernest Clifford Walters	Chauffeur	Private	26 December 1896	29 September 1918
John William Whittaker	Butcher	Private	27 July 1897	16 November 1917
Robert Wray [Armoury, Orange Lodge, St. Andrew's Church Brandon]	Wiper	Private	2 May 1891	28 September 1918

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Agricultural College / University of Manitoba, Fort Garry Campus (Winnipeg)

Sources:

“196th Overseas Battalion Western Universities Battalion - 11th Field Ambulance Western Universities Field Ambulance,” Winnipeg Tribune, 27 March 1916, page 10.

“Lieut.-Col. Moshier a gallant officer,” Manitoba Free Press, 5 September 1918, page 3.

“Monument to Ambulance men to be unveiled Sunday,” Winnipeg Tribune, 14 October 1927, page 9.

“Military unit pays honor to dead comrades,” Winnipeg Tribune, 17 October 1927, page 5.

“Army Medical Corps memorial unveiled,” Manitoba Free Press, 17 October 1927, page 2.

Obituary [Christopher Thomas Best], Winnipeg Free Press, 27 May 1969, page 27.

Soldiers of the First World War - Canadian Expeditionary Force, Library and Archives Canada.

Canadian Virtual War Memorial, Veterans Affairs Canada.

Find War Dead & Cemeteries, Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

War Memorials of Manitoba: A Beginning Inventory by Patrick Morican, 1996.

Information Office, University of Manitoba, PC 80, 393-416, University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections.

We thank Wayne Chan and Milan Lukes for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Darryl Toews.

Page revised: 10 November 2024

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