A Vimy Ridge Visit and Pause to Remember Albert County Farmer, Private James Harold Beck

A Vimy Ridge Visit and Pause to Remember Albert County Farmer,  Private James Harold Beck

31/10/2025

Images and Information Submitted by Jennifer McDougall, PhD Student, University of Calgary  
Written by Melody Land, CAC Coordinator

On August 14, 2024, Jennifier McDougall made the trip to the majestic and inspiring Vimy Ridge Memorial, located in Northern France. The location, overlooking the Douai Plain, is near the City of Arras, just outside the village of Vimy. This is the land, granted to Canada by France to serve as a memorial park, which honours the Canadian soldiers who fought and died there.

It was early Easter morning, 1917, when the Battle of Vimy Ridge began. Despite pounding sleet and rain, the slogging of mud, and explosions of shellfire, the Canadian Corps fought their way up the ridge to take the high ground, overlooking the plains. This land had been in the hands of the Germans since 1914, an extremely strategic location that over 150,000 soldiers had fallen trying to retake. After the final blast rang out, the Canadian Corps stood having done what thousands couldn’t. However, it came at great loss.

Image of the Battle of Vimy Ridge from veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/military-history/first-world-war/battle-vimy-ridge

One hundred and seven years, one hundred and twenty-one days later, Jennifer journied to this exact place, traversed through the 91.18 hectares of land given to Canada “the free gift in perpetuity of the French nation”, seeing dense Canadian trees and shrubs planted in masses, purposefully to resemble the great woods and forests of Canada. She saw trenches and runners that were restored and preserved for these many years, and stood at the base of the memorial, and read “ to the valor of their countrymen in the Great War and in memory of their sixty thousand dead, this monument is raised by the people of Canada.”

Jennifer was deeply moved.

She wrote to us at Connecting Albert County to share her experience. “[We were moved…] by the stunning park, the tour and context provided by staff, and most of all, by the sacrifice of those who died in that momentous battle.”

Jennifer, was born in Calgary, is a PhD student at the University of Calgary studying English Literature and Creative Writing, and raises her four children with her husband there as well. Despite being from “out west”, Jennifer became an honourary Albert County girl the moment she saw the name “Private James Harold Beck of Elgin, New Brunswick” etched on an outdoor board positioned near a preserved trench, one of the honoured fallen being featured that day at the Vimy Memorial.

Private James Harold Beck, Service Number 709350, was from Elgin, New Brunswick and was born August 13, 1896. He was the son of Mr. James Beck and was a farmer at the time of his enlistment to the Canadian Infantry (New Brunswick Regiment). He enlisted to the 26th Battalion on September 24, 1915 at the age of 19 years, 1 month old. Upon inspection of his records, it appears Private Beck was previously injured and apparently recuperated before fighting at the Battle of Vimy Ridge. There, he made the ultimate sacrifice. Initially listed as missing, he was then later declared Killed in Action on this momentous day. He has no known grave, and is honoured among the lost and missing soldiers at Vimy.

“My grandfathers enlisted during WWII, but fortunately they returned.” Jennifer shared with us. “Our family doesn't know anyone who is honoured on the Vimy memorial, so connecting with an individual soldier in this way was meaningful for us as Canadians. When we made our way to the memorial, we had a person, Private Beck, in mind and a name to search for among the engravings.”

Jennifer graciously reached out to Connecting Albert County to share her story and photos, and thereby share the story of Private James Harold Beck.

Private Beck was one of many from Albert County who, despite being from a small town in a small corner of the world, bravely served their country and the world in momentous ways. Many, like Private Beck, never came home. Others did, fighting their own battles with the trauma they faced, with varied outcomes.

This November 11th, make sure to take part in an act of remembrance, attend a local ceremony in one of the locations near you.

Now on Remembrance Day and on Vimy Ridge Day, Jennifer McDougall and family, despite living on the other side of the country, reflects on the life of Private James Harold Beck, a young man once previously unknown to them, from a region in the small corner of the Maritimes. Now, this Albert County native is very real and meaningful part of their life.

“We are remembering him.”

Private James Harold Beck Documents from the Library Archives of Canada