Thomas Newell Vickers

(1890.04.19 - 1917.04.09)
SLS, DLS
Commission #055
(1912.07.26)

Since the last Annual Meeting of our Association, we regret to have to record the death of our esteemed fellow member Lieut. Thomas Newell Vickers who has made the Supreme Sacrifice doing his part in upholding the honour and cause of the Empire on the battlefields in France. We can truly say that all who came in contact with him esteemed him for his manly and sterling qualities and it is a matter of deep regret that a career of great promise should have been terminated so suddenly.

The late Lieut. Vickers was born at Renwick, Ontario, 19th April, 1890, graduated from the Faculty of Applied Science of the University of Toronto in 1911, when he came west and was articled to Mr. E. H. Phillips of Saskatoon. On May 17th, 1912, he obtained his Commission as Dominion Land Surveyor and qualified as Saskatchewan Land Surveyor the same year when he entered the service of the Surveys Branch of the Department of Highways, as District Surveyor and Engineer for the Battleford District. In February, 1915, he qualified as Lieutenant at the Military Institute at Winnipeg, when he joined the 195th Battalion, which went overseas in the fall of that year. He was killed in action at Vimy Ridge in April, 1917. We hope to be able to obtain a photograph from his relatives for reproduction in the Annual report.

Several of our members at the front have been advanced in rank and have received marks of distinction, and we sincerely trust that before our next Annual Meeting this terrible war will have ended and we shall have them all with us again.

It is hoped to obtain for our Repository portraits of those Surveyors who were identified with early Surveys in the North West and contributions of maps and works relating to party explorations would be appreciated to form the nucleus of a Library of reference.

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON BIOGRAPHY AND REPOSITORY - 1918.
Respectfully submitted,
WM.T. THOMPSON, Chairman.