The Loyal Edmonton Regiment Museum

Remains of First World War Soldier Identified

A century after he was killed in action the remains of a First World War soldier have been identified.

During an announcement made at the Loyal Edmonton Regiment Military Museum, Laurie Hawn, MP for Edmonton Centre, stated that the soldier was identified as Pte. Thomas Lawless. Lawless was a member of the 49th Battalion, which was raised in Edmonton in 1914 by LCol Griesbach. The 49th Battalion is perpetuated by the Loyal Edmonton Regiment. Lawless was killed during a night raid in Avion, France, in June of 1917 and was officially listed as missing and presumed dead.

In October 2003, construction workers discovered the remains of two unidentified soldiers near Vimy Ridge in northern France. Along with the remains were uniform insignia which identified the soldiers as being from the 49th Battalion, CEF. The remains were returned to Canada for possible identification. In April of 2007, the first soldier was identified as Pte. Herbert Peterson. The identification of Lawless as the second soldier took until early 2011.

For more information and pictures about this story, go to http://www.edmontonjournal.com and search for Pte. Thomas Lawless.

To see a 4½ minute video of the announcement made by Laurie Hawn go to http://www.edmontonjournal.com/videos/First+World+soldier+identified/4342947/story.html.