'We Have Not Forgotten': 37 Law Students to be Posthumously Admitted to the Bar

Legal Archives Society of Alberta initiative will honour students who perished in the First World War

08 November 2018

Though we often hear happy stories of law students who graduated and went on to find rewarding careers in their profession, it's not often we are reminded of students who were never able to walk across the Convocation stage.

As a result of the First World War, 37 Alberta-based law students - including some studying at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law - lost their lives, and with that, their chance of ever finishing law school. Most of those who perished were between the ages of 18 and 30, and while some were born and raised Albertans there were others who came to the province from across Canada and even from across the globe.

November 2018 - which marks the 100^th anniversary of the ending of the First World War - is a fitting time to recognize and remember those who died, and thanks to the Legal Archives Society of Alberta's project titled "We Have Not Forgotten," that is exactly what will happen.

On November 9 at the Calgary Court Center, those 37 students will be posthumously admitted to the Alberta bar - the result of a resolution passed by the Law Society of Alberta's board of directors.

Current law students and families of those who perished are expected to be in attendance.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP to lasa@legalarchives.ca.

We Remember:

(Full biographies can be found here).

Lieutenant Thoburn Stephens Allan, MC

Private Herbert Joseph Ball

Private Francis Benedict Barnes

Private Percy Douglas Sinclair Broad

Private Bernal Benjamin Brown

Major John Francis Costigan

Private Henry Humphreys Dinning

Lieutenant Albert Graham Eakins