Private
Philip, Alexander Edward
Unit
14th Canadian Infantry Battalion
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 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.
