Today, we remember the Canadians who victoriously fought in the Battle of Vimy Ridge in Northern France during the First World War.
Ernest E. Betts, who is pictured on the left with his brother Clarence below, were the sons of Richard & Julia Betts, who relocated to Raymond from Utah around 1902. Ernest enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force on March 27, 1916, and was killed during the Battle of Vimy Ridge on April 9, 1917. 
Jim Betts, Earl’s nephew and son of Clarence who currently lives near Coutts, told CBC news on Jan 4, 2016, that he wasn’t, “sure what led his father, Clarence, to sign up but it may have had something to do with the fact that his younger brother, Earl, had enlisted a week earlier at age 26. If one was in trouble the other was right beside him,” Betts said. “Dad never did talk too much about the war,” said Betts. “I know him and Earl were together when Earl got shot, and he said they buried Earl right there. It was just one of them things that just happened.”
Earl’s body was never recovered, but his identification tag was. 
WW1 identification tag and Canadian Memorial Cross for Earl Betts, killed in the battle of Vimy Ridge. His body was never recovered. (Galt Museum and Archives)
Today the aluminum disc, warped by shrapnel or a bullet, sits in a Galt Museum storage vault. It was donated by the Betts family.
Both Richard and Julia Betts are buried in our Temple Hill Cemetery. Their graves can be found on Row 4, Block 56, Plots 6 & 7.
Vimy Ridge Day – April 9, 2021
