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Courtesy of Veterans Affairs Canada
Courtesy of Veterans Affairs Canada
CWM 19950117-004
George Metcalf Archival Collection
Canadian War Museum
CWM 19950117-004 George Metcalf Archival Collection Canadian War Museum
CWM 19950117-017
George Metcalf Archival Collection
Canadian War Museum
CWM 19950117-017 George Metcalf Archival Collection Canadian War Museum
CWM 19920166-1466
CWM 19920166-1466

Private

Philip, Alexander Edward

Unit

14th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Royal Montreal Regiment)

Branch

Infantry

Service Component

Canadian Expeditionary Force

Service Number

841356

birth

1897/08/05

Chicago, Illinois, United States of America

death

1917/04/09

Vimy Ridge, France

grave

Canadian National Vimy Memorial, Vimy Ridge, France

Gender

Male

Alexander Edward Philip was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, on 5 August 1897. He was the youngest child of Alexander and Christina Philip. His father was a bookkeeper. By 1901, the family had moved to Montréal, Quebec.

Philip stated that he was a clerk when he enlisted in the 148th Canadian Infantry Battalion in Montréal on 3 February 1916. After initial training in Canada, he and his unit were shipped to England on SS Laconia, embarking in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 27 September 1916. They disembarked in Liverpool on 6 October 1916.

Upon arrival in England, the 148th Battalion was absorbed into the 20th Reserve Battalion. Reserve battalions supplied reinforcements to units already in the field. Philip was later transferred to the 14th Canadain Infantry Battalion (Royal Montreal Regiment) as a reinforcement. He was killed in France on 9 April 1917, during the Battle of Vimy Ridge, and his body was lost. Philip was one of the 288 casualties the 14th Battalion suffered that day.

Alexander Edward Philip is commemorated on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, on Vimy Ridge, in France.

The Canadian War Museum’s Collection includes the following artifacts for this recipient