Battalions
in the first waves of the assault suffered great numbers of casualties, but the
Canadian assault proceeded on schedule. Hill 145, the main ridge, was taken on the morning of April 10. Two days later, the
Canadians took "The Pimple," as the other significant height on the
ridge was called. The Germans fell back and the Battle of Vimy Ridge was over.
The
Battle was a success, but at great cost. Canadians
suffered approximately 11,000 casualties, of these, nearly 3,600 of them fatal.
Sadly,
Dorval and Iver were among the 3,598 poor souls who never returned home.
Private Dorval Augustus Saunders
First World War Book of Remembrance, p. 322, Veterans Affairs Canada (Source: 8) |
Nineteen-year-old
Dorval Augustus Saunders, of the 16th Battalion Canadian Infantry (Manitoba
Regiment), died on April 11, 1917. His gravestone in the Barlin Communal
Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France, records that he "Died of wounds received
at Vimy Ridge."
"Died of Wounds, at #6 Casualty Clearing Station." |
Born
in Meaford, Ontario, Dorval was the third child of Willie Price Cooper Saunders
and Annie Elizabeth Saunders. By 1916, according to the Prairie Census, Dorval,
his father Willlie, and his brother George (with wife Flossy - Zelma's sister) were farming in
the Roseisle district. Dorval's occupation was listed as Soldier.
Records
are unreliable. Census records list four children: Kathleen (b. 1892), George
(b. 1896), Dorval (b. 1898) and Clifford (b. 1905). The website Ancestry.ca
lists five children: Annie Kathleen (1891-1997), Zella Beatrice (1894-1895), George
Washington (1895-1981), Dorval Augustus (1898-1917), and William Hilton
(1901-1902).
The
obituary of Dorval's brother, Clifford Brown Saunders (1905-2001) notes siblings: Hilton and Zella, who died of tuberculosis in childhood, Dorval, who died of wounds received at Vimy Ridge, George Washington of Roseisle, Margaret Mills of Meaford, and Kathleen Kellough of Owen Sound, who passed away at the age of 106 years.
Private Dorval Augustus Saunders' gravestone in the Barlin Communal Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France (Source: 39) |
Barlin Communal Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France (Source: 17) |
War Memorial in Dorval's home town, Meaford, Ontario (Source: 6) |
*---*---*---*
Private Iver Bernhardt Werseen
First World War Book of Remembrance, p. 347, Veterans Affairs Canada (Source: 8) |
Private
Iver Bernhardt Werseen, of the 78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry, died on April
9, 1917 at the age of 23.
Iver
was born on August 31, 1894 to Isaac and Caroline Sibley Werseen of Roseisle,
Manitoba.
The burial site of Iver Bernhardt Werseen near Lens, France was obliterated by shell fire, but a memorial cross with his name was erected in the Givenchy-en-Gohelle Canadian Cemetery near the Vimy Memorial.
The burial site of Iver Bernhardt Werseen near Lens, France was obliterated by shell fire, but a memorial cross with his name was erected in the Givenchy-en-Gohelle Canadian Cemetery near the Vimy Memorial.
Givenchy-en-Gohelle Canadian Cemetery, France (Source: 36) |
Iver's name is engraved on the Vimy Memorial along with 11,284 other Canadian soldiers whose final resting places are unknown.
Private Werseen and Private Saunders are, of course, noted on Roseisle's own war memorial:
Iver Bernhardt Werseen's name on the Vimy Memorial (Source: 16) |
Private Werseen and Private Saunders are, of course, noted on Roseisle's own war memorial:
War Memorial in Roseisle, Manitoba (Source: 7)
Stevens brothers (Edmond, Charles, Albert, and Ernest) are noted for their service in WWII. Wes was too young.
|
A hundred years later, battlefield scars remain, another very real reminder of our lost men. Many areas at Vimy Ridge are off limits because of undetonated explosives. (Source: 38) |
As
for Zelma, one can only imagine how she reacted to the news of Dorval's and Iver's
deaths. Clearly they were dear friends at least, potential mates at best. She
did keep their letters her entire life.
But
Zelma did not have much time to grieve. The war was still raging on November
14, 1917, when she married Fredrick Guise Stevens, a young man from Cornwall,
England. Their first child, Edmund, was born December 11, 1918, one month after
Armistice Day. Five more children followed in quick succession.
Imagine how Zelma felt watching her four oldest sons head off to fight in World War II.
Imagine how Zelma felt watching her four oldest sons head off to fight in World War II.
We
all pay our respects on Remembrance Day each year on November 11. But there is
a second memorial day we should acknowledge. In 2003 the Canadian Government
declared April 9 as "Vimy Ridge Day." The Canadian flag on the Peace
Tower of Parliament Hill is required by law to fly at half-mast.
You
might want to wear your poppy on that day, and bow your head to our brave
soldiers, Saunders and Werseen.