MY COUNTRY,
'TIS FOR THEE

PRIVATE WILLIAM HEBER LEWIS

CANADIAN MOUNTED RIFLES

30TH JANUARY 1916 AGE 21

BURIED: LONGUENESSE (ST OMER) SOUVENIR CEMETERY, FRANCE


Private Lewis died of meningitis in one of the big base hospitals in St Omer. Whether his parents meant it or not, his inscription is a slight misquote of the first line of an early American patriotic song written by Samuel Francis Smith in 1831. The first words of the song are "My country 'tis of thee" not "for thee". I assume that the country that's being referred to is Canada, which is where William Lewis was born. However, his parents' address at the end of the war was 1323 Amapola Avenue, Torrence, California, USA. Perhaps William Lewis was an American citizen. The song is sung to the tune of the British national anthem. The words of the first verse are:

My country 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my father's died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From every mountainside
Let freedom ring!