Historic Sites of Manitoba: Victoria Methodist Church / Victoria United Church (103 Souris Street, Melita)
Link to:
Clerics | Photos & Coordinates | Sources
On 10 August 1897, a cornerstone for the Victoria Methodist Church in Melita was laid by Reeve George L. Dodds and Mrs. J. C. Switzer, wife of the pastor. It contained an account of the ceremony, names of participants, a Bible, Methodist hymn book, a copy of the Methodist discipline, copies of local newspapers, and postcards and stamps commemorating the Jubilee of Queen Victoria, for whom the church was named. It became Victoria United Church when the Methodist and Presbyterian congregations merged in June 1925 and a new cornerstone was placed alongside the first one. A front addition was made in 1970.
A commemorative tablet inside the church, listing parishioners killed during service in the First World War, was unveiled on 11 April 1920 by MLA John Williams and Secretary T. W. Norris of the Great War Veterans Association.
Clerics
Period |
Cleric |
1896-1899 |
Rev. A. J. Switzer |
1899 |
Rev. S. P. Riddell |
1899-1902 |
Rev. Fred Buckley |
1902-1906 |
Rev. H. Lewis |
1906-1910 |
Rev. S. T. Robson |
1910-1913 |
Rev. C. E. Somerset |
1913-1917 |
Rev. A. E. Parsons |
1917-1921 |
Rev. A. E. Maunders |
1921-1925 |
Ernest Howard Smith (1882-1940) |
1925-1931 |
Rev. P. E. Scott |
1931-1936 |
Frederick William Lee (1880-1974) |
1936-1940 |
Rev. P. E. Jones |
1940-1941 |
Rev. T. W. Bailey |
1941-1943 |
Rev. W. J. Reid |
1943-1947 |
Rev. A. E. Passmore |
1947-1950 |
Rev. John McDonald |
1950 |
Rev. D. L. Gordon |
1950-1951 |
Rev. David D. R. Patterson |
1951-1952 |
Rev. N. Watson |
1952-1953 |
Rev. G. W. Tyndale |
1953-1954 |
Rev. S. H. Brown |
1954-1957 |
Rev. Ian McMillan |
1957-1960 |
Rev. J. Wiznuck |
1960-1965 |
George Henry Hambley (1896-1983) |
1965-1967 |
Rev. J. Murray Lake |
1967-1970 |
Donald Alexander “Don” Robertson (1935-2019) |
1970-1973 |
Rev. John Butters |
1975-1980 |
Rev. J. Clark Saunders |
1980-? |
Rev. Doug Jones |
Photos & Coordinates
First World War Casualties
Name |
Occupation |
Service |
Rank |
Birth Date |
Death Date |
George Ernest Booker
[Melita] |
Farmer |
8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry |
Private |
22 March 1891 |
31 August 1918 |
Edgar William Brook
[Melita, Melita School] |
Farmer |
16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry |
Private |
23 March 1890 |
8 October 1916 |
Russell Brown
[Melita] |
Teamster |
102nd Battalion, Canadian Infantry |
Private |
31 May 1885 |
9 January 1917 |
Wilfred Maurice Holden
[Melita, Melita School, Next of Kin, Union Bank] |
Bank Clerk (Union Bank of Canada) |
1st Canadian Mounted Rifles |
Private |
25 November 1895 |
20 August 1917 |
Franklin Robert Kelly
[Melita, Melita School, Vimy Ridge] |
Farmer |
44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry |
Private |
19 February 1896 |
11 May 1917 |
William Edgar Lamport
[Melita] |
Rancher |
2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles |
Sergeant |
21 June 1887 |
29 September 1918 |
Robert Priddle
[Melita] |
Engineer |
9th Battalion, Canadian Infantry |
Sergeant |
25 November 1877 |
25 January 1916 |
Charles Arthur Steventon
[Melita] |
Farmer |
78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry |
Private |
4 May 1884 |
9 April 1917 |
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Melita United Church Manse (79 Ash Street, Melita)
Sources:
“Memorial Service: Tablet in Honor of Meltia’s Fallen Soldiers,” Manitoba Free Press, 15 April 1920, page 18.
Our First Century: Town of Melita and Municipality of Arthur by Melita-Arthur History Committee, 1983, pages 96-98.
We thank Orville Renwick for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by George Penner, Darryl Toews, and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 19 March 2023
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Historic Sites of Manitoba
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