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

Victoria United Church

Victoria United Church (July 2018)
Source: George Penner

Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.27165, W100.99027
denoted by symbol on the map above

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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