A Memorial Plaque & Cross To Lieutenant Edward F. Thairs; Battle Of Amiens

Memorial Cross (Lieut. E.F. THAIRS), naming is officially engraved; and Memorial Plaque (EDWARD FOX THAIRS), naming in raised lettering, in a two-piece bronze cross-shaped frame (200 mm x 200 mm). Better than very fine.

Footnote: Edward Fox Thairs was born in St. Catharines, Ontario on January 21, 1895, the son of Colonel George Thairs of Ridley College. He attended Ridley College in St. Catharines from 1904 to 1912. Thairs signed his Officers' Declaration Paper with the 176th Infantry Battalion "Niagara Rangers", on October 17, 1916 in St. Catharines, naming his next-of-kin as his father, Colonel Thairs of St. Catharines, stating that he with an Active Militia, the 19th St. Catharines Regiment, that his religion was Church of England and that his occupation was that of Bank Clerk. His father, Colonel George Thairs was a member of the Officers' Training Corps at Camp Borden, where he was in charge of the Ridley cadets. The Battalion was raised in the Counties of Lincoln and Welland, Ontario with mobilization headquarters at St. Catharines under the authority of G.O. 69, July 15, 1916. The Battalion sailed April 19, 1917 under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel D. Sharpe with a strength of 18 officers and 446 other ranks. In England, the Battalion was absorbed into the 12th Reserve Battalion. Thairs eventually made his way to the French theatre of operations with the 3rd Canadian Infantry Battalion, Central Ontario Regiment, "C" Company, when he was Killed in Action at the Battle of Amiens, on August 8, 1918, at the age of 23. He is buried in the Toronto Cemetery in Somme, France, Grave Reference: C.3. and is commemorated on page 511 of the First World War Book of Remembrance. His mother, Louisa, received his Memorial Cross, predeceasing the father, who died in 1924.