9377 Private Cyril Monserrat Thompson was born 8 September 1889 in Toronto, Ontario to Frederick William Thompson and Ida Charlotte Venner. A member of the Queen’s Own before the outbreak of the First World War, he volunteered for active service with the Third Battalion (Toronto Regiment) Canadian Expeditionary Force on 22 September 1914. The Battalion arrived in France February 1915. Surviving the first gas attack at Ypres and the Battle at St Julien, Thompson was one of 190 casualties from the action at Festubert 21-31 May 1915. He died of his wounds on 28 May and is buried in the Commonwealth War Cemetery at Hinges, France. He is also commemorated on his family’s memorial at St James Cemetery, Toronto, Ontario.
Timeline of Military Service;
- 1913 – Private, G Company, 2nd Battalion, Queen’s Own Rifles
- 1914 – Private, G Company, 2nd Battalion, Queen´s Own Rifles
- 1914, 22 Sep – Taken On Strength 3rd Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force
- 1914, 3 Oct – Sailed
- 1915, 11 Feb – 3rd Battalion arrives in St Nazaire, France
- 1915, 22 Apr – First gas attack at Ypres
- 1915, 26 May, wounded at Festubert
- 1915, 28 May – died of wounds
With Information from:
Canadian Great War Project
http://www.canadiangreatwarproject.com/searches/soldierDetail.asp?ID=11492
Library and Archives Canada
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/247578
Commonwealth War Graves
FindAGrave:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/55905859/cyril-monsarrat-thompson
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum and Archive 