Morden WWI Veteran Honoured In England 100 Years Later

A family in England is remembering an adopted son of Morden on the 100th anniversary of his passing.

The Thorington family held a memorial for Sydney Robert Thorington who died in action May 3rd 1917 during World War I.

Great grandson Mark Coome explains Thorington fought in the 27th Battalion out of Winnipeg after emigrating to Canada in 1906.

Sydney Thorington is remembered on the war memorial in Morden, as well as Vimy Ridge.

Coome and his family have visited the Vimy Memorial, and the villages Thorington was billeted during his time in France.

"Most poignant was the field near Acheville and Fresnoy where he fell," Coome says. "I have been brought up with his story from being a small boy."

The family adorned their garden with the Canadian and Manitoban flags in his honour May 3.

"Canada has always loomed large in my life," Coome explains, adding his grandparents were married in Winnipeg.

"We used to be enthralled by your exotic country," he says. "I visited Canada in 2004 and saw the book of remembrance in the Parliament building. It was emotional to be in the country my ancestor chose as his home."

While Coome doesn't remember much of his great grandfather, he explains receiving Canadian dollars sent over from his great grandmother was always a thrill.

The Thoringtons lived on 9th Street in Morden.

Coome says he hopes to visit the community his ancestor called home.