Interesting Facts

Born in New Pleymouth, New Zealand in 1897 to Albert and Emmeline Ashcroft. Both Lance and his brother were killed in WW1, the second by drowning en-route to Palestine. Lance and his brothers are both remembered both on the churches memorial alter and in a stained glass window in the 1916 memorial chapel. When he died just three days after his twentieth birthday, Lance had just returned to the front lines after a months-long bout of the measles. He was killed by a sniper during the earliest moments of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, after successfully leading his platoon to their objective. They were sent out as an advance party to destroy some machine gun emplacements before the main advance could take place.

Images

Credit: Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; CEF Personnel Files; Reference: RG 150; Volume: Box 263 - 24

Credit: Auckland Museum Online Cenotaph: https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C35214