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The Photograph of the British Carver

Carving a Canadian Monument

Please note that all information on this page comes from the help of the Imperial War Museum, The Canadian War Museum Library and Archives, the Library and Archives of Canada, The War Graves Photographic Project, and from Veterans Affairs Canada. If not for the help of ALL of these people this page could not have been completed!

About a year ago (Early spring of 2012?) I found the photo above posted on a web site. I do not even remember where for certain but think it was probably on the web site of the British War Museum. I contacted the War Museum and they kindly gave us permission to post the photograph on our web site. I believed and still do that it would be VERY, VERY difficult to find a better suiting photograph for our Memorial Field area. One thing though was missing. So I contacted them again. I had noticed a few letters and/or numbers on the photograph visible. No name. But could we figure out what cemetery it went to by ANY chance at all? Maybe even narrow it down to a battle.

I soon received their kind reply again.

Quote... Thank you for your enquiry.
I have examined the photograph under a magnifying glass and I am quite certain that the engraver has not yet inscribed the name onto the stone.
In spite of this I think I may have found out whom the grave stone belongs to. The references at the bottom of the marker provides information specific to the burial place of every individual and this can be cross referenced with the CWGC database: www.cwgc.org.
I believe the markings at the bottom of the headstone say P3 RA C20 DOULCCE No.191.
This is Plot 3, Row A, Column 20 in Doullens Communal Cemetery Extension No. 1. No.191.
Using the cemetery locator on the CWGC website and sorting by grave plot it has been possible to trace P3 RA C20 to Private John Christopher Weatherhead, Canadian Army Medical Corps: http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead.aspx?cpage=13&sort=gravereference&order=asc. Further information about Weatherhead can be found online.
I hope this has provided you with some useful information.
Kind regards,
Helen Mavin

This reply almost "Bowled me over" as they say. We now had the very probable name of the person whose grave this would mark! If not for me thinking to ask, and if not for a this fantastic work by the British War Museum in London England, it might never have been known. But now we do have it.

Veteran's Affairs Canada gives the information on him as follows.

In memory of
Private
JOHN CHRISTOPHER WEATHERHEAD
who died on March 27, 1918

Service Number: 400467
Age: 38
Force: Army
Unit: Canadian Army Medical Corps
Division: 3rd Stationary Hospital

Date and Place of Birth: November 30, 1879
Date and Place of Enlistment: August 7, 1915 Canada
Born 30 November 1879 in London, England. Son of Fanny Weatherhead of Lewiston, South East England. He enlisted on 7 August 1915 in Vernon, British Columbia. He stated he was a policeman and had 12 years former service with the Royal Army Medical Corps. Husband of Florence Edith Weatherhead, of Mission City, British Columbia. Father of Flying Officer Richard John Weatherhead (J6992) killed in action 23 March 1943.
Commemorated on Page 519 External link, Opens in a new window of the First World War Book of Remembrance.

Cemetery: DOULLENS COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION No.1 Somme,France Cemetery Plan
Grave Reference: III. A. 20.
Location: Doullens is a town in the Department of the Somme, approximately 30 kilometres north of Amiens on the N25 road to Arras.The DOULLENS COMMUNAL CEMETERY and EXTENSIONS lie on the eastern side of the town, about 270 metres south-east of the road to Arras.

In the photographs below of activities just before and after the death of John Christopher, note the admission rate changes in the 3rd Stationary Hospital. Note the Admission rates around March 1, those on and just after March 27 (The day of his death), and those that follow. The sudden rush of admission indicates the timing of the beginning of the German invasion in that area.

Richard John Weatherhead - Son of the man the above monument was carved for.

23.03.1943 No 59 Squadron Fortress IIA FK209 F/O. Weatherhead crew loss

Operation: Anti-submarine Patrol

Date: 23rd March 1943 (Tuesday)

Unit:No. 59 Squadron

Type: B-17 Fortress IIA

Serial: FK209

Coded: J

Location: Bay of Biscay

Pilot: F/O. Richard John Weatherhead J/6992 R.C.A.F. Age 30. Missing

Pilot 2: Sgt. William James Arnold R/106166 R.C.A.F. Age 20. Missing

Nav: F/O. Willard Christian Zapfe J/7024 R.C.A.F. Age 21. Missing (1)

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Fl/Sgt. George Cojocar J/16374 R.C.A.F. Age 20. Missing (2)

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Clarence Lummis Copping R/77233 R.C.A.F. Age 25. Missing

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Frank Spino R/75875 R.C.A.F. Age 26. Missing (3)

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Richard Glover Montgomery R/106426 R.C.A.F. Age 26. Missing

Air/Bmr: Sgt. Robert Albert Phillips 128609 R.A.F.V.R. Age 31. Missing

REASON FOR LOSS:

Shot down and classed as missing. The B-17 was shot down by Oblt. Hermann Horstmann of 13 / KG 40 at 13.15 hours.

Interesting in that F/O. Weatherhead, F/O. Zapfe, Sgt. Copping and Sgt. Spino were all interned in Portuguese Guinea on October 2nd 1942 when a 200 Squadron Hudson went down in bad weather. They all returned to United Kingdom on October 24th, 1942.