Stanley Couch: Heroes of Imperishable Fame: World War I Memorials: Smiths Falls Digital Archive

Heroes of Imperishable Fame: World War I Memorials

Stanley Couch

Panels

Introduction The Lest We Forget Project: Foreward by Blake Seward Smiths Falls Remembrance William Benson Craig Stanley Couch Harwood Davidson Charles L. Edmunds George Field Alfred James Field Baxter Ogilvie Grant Orville Newton Hyslop Frank Everett Morrissey Isabella Menagh Williston Sherwood Marshall Wood Bibliography and Suggested Reading

Links

Mount Sorrel, Canadian War Museum Stanley Couch, Canadian Virtual War Memorial Stanley Couch, Commonwealth War Graves Stanley Couch, Great Canadian War Project

Stanley Morrison Couch Details

In memory of:

Private Stanley Morrison Couch

June 16, 1915

Military Service

Service Number: 8195

Age: 21

Force: Army

Unit: Canadian Infantry (Eastern Ontario Regiment)

Division: 2nd Bn.

Citation(s): 1914-15 Star

Born: May 27, 1894

North Elmsley, Ontario

Enlistment: September 22, 1914 Valcartier, Quebec

Son of W. James and Annie (nee Morrison) Couch, of Smiths Falls, Ontario. Brother of Irene, Margaret, Edna, Winston, James, Laura, Lillian, Annie, Percy and Harry.

Burial Information

Cemetery: VIMY MEMORIAL Pas de Calais, France

Grave Reference: N/A

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Location: Canada's most impressive tribute overseas to those Canadians who fought and gave their lives in the First World War is the majestic and inspiring Vimy Memorial, which overlooks the Douai Plain from the highest point of Vimy Ridge, about eight kilometres northeast of Arras on the N17 towards Lens. The Memorial is signposted from this road to the left, just before you enter the village of Vimy from the south. The memorial itself is someway inside the memorial park, but again it is well signposted. At the base of the memorial, these words appear in French and in English:

TO THE VALOUR OF THEIR COUNTRYMEN IN THE GREAT WAR AND IN MEMORY OF THEIR SIXTY THOUSAND DEAD THIS MONUMENT IS RAISED BY THE PEOPLE OF CANADA

Inscribed on the ramparts of the Vimy Memorial are the names of over 11,000 Canadian soldiers who were posted as 'missing, presumed dead' in France. A plaque at the entrance to the memorial states that the land for the battlefield park, 91.18 hectares in extent, was 'the free gift in perpetuity of the French nation to the people of Canada'. Construction of the massive work began in 1925, and 11 years later, on July 26, 1936, the monument was unveiled by King Edward VIII. The park surrounding the Vimy Memorial was created by horticultural experts. Canadian trees and shrubs were planted in great masses to resemble the woods and forests of Canada. Wooded parklands surround the grassy slopes of the approaches around the Vimy Memorial. Trenches and tunnels have been restored and preserved and the visitor can picture the magnitude of the task that faced the Canadian Corps on that distant dawn when history was made. On April 3, 2003, the Government of Canada designated April 9th of each year as a national day of remembrance of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Stanley Morrison Couch Details

Personal Information: Stanley Couch was born in Smiths Falls on the 27th of May, 1894. He was the oldest son of James and Annie Couch. Stanley was by trade a civil servant in Ottawa when he enlisted on September 22, 1914. After spending 11 days at Valcartier Quebec, Stanley sailed for England on the first ships on October 3, 1914 (Archives). What is interesting about the enlistment date is that it corresponds with the same enlistment dates as Clarence Ferguson, David Henry Lucas and Clement Oswald Yates. It is presumed that all of these young men from Smiths Falls traveled to Valcartier to enlist. Lucas, Yates and Ferguson would all die at Ypres between April 22-24, 1915.

Military Movements: On October 3, 1914, Stanley Couch was shipped out to England and as a soldier of the 2nd Battalion. Stanley Couch spent some time training in Shorncliffe England before he was transferred to France. The battalion got there just in time for the Battle at Ypres. The Canadians had been stationed in between British and French troops just a couple of weeks before and were not at all prepared for the 160 tons of chlorine gas that would sear their lungs and claim a 1/3rd of their lives. After this the 1st Division was reinforced by some volunteers from the calvary brigade and headed south to defend Festubert. In May 1916 the Canadians achieved their goal of defending Festubert but lost 2,468 men. In June Couch found himself in battle again this time Givenchy only this time Couch and 399 other men in the 2nd Battalion didn't survive. In early June the Germans had pushed into the Ypres Salient attempting to take Mount Sorrel. The result was that the 1st Division had suffered heavy casualties in trying to defend these trenches. In some cases, battalions suffered over 50 percent casualties with the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles suffering over 89 percent in casualties. On June 2nd the official Canadian records indicate "the whole enemy position was a cloud of dust and dirt, into which timber, tree trunks, weapons and equipment were continually hurled up, and occasionally human bodies (Nicholson, p.14)." In this tornado of fire was Stanley Couch.

Medical Records: Stanley Couch was very healthy and was not afflicted by any major illnesses during his time in the trenches. He was killed in action but the cause of his death is not known (Archives).

The Final Days: The 2nd Battalion had just been moved to Givenchy in May 1916 and charged with a trench section near Vimy Ridge. He had just had his 21st birthday a few weeks before.

Lest We Forget: Stanley Couch was 21 years old when he died. He was survived by his mother Annie, his father James as well as other brothers and sisters. "Stanley was a fine steady young fellow whom everybody liked (Rideau Record)."

Biography courtesy of the Lest We Forget remembrance initiative of the Smiths Falls District Collegiate Institute.

Stanley Morrison Couch, 29 June 1915, Rideau Record Details

Stanley Morrison Couch memorial page Details

Commemorated on Page 10 of the First World War Book of Remembrance. This page is displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on the following days: January 18