William Morden Carthew

"B" Company, 49th Battalion (Edmonton Regiment)

William Morden Carthew was a surveyor of Alberta’s Rocky Mountains who traded exploration for military service when he joined the 49th Battalion (E.R.) in 1915. Serving in the trenches of Flanders, he was killed by shellfire in June 1916 while the battalion moved into position for the Sanctuary Wood counter-attack. Carthew became the first officer of the regiment killed in the Great War.

In 1917, a mountain in Akamina Pass was named in his honour. His remains were found after the war and interned at La Brique Military Cemetery No. 2 in Belgium.