Daniyal and Harris Elahi are funding and leading the installation of a permanent commemorative bench and plaque at The Hill 70 Memorial in Loos-en-Gohelle, France. The project has been approved by The Hill 70 Memorial board (April 2026), with a Hill 70 Memorial board site survey scheduled for June 2026.
The bench and plaque will honour Private Hasan Amat and recognize the diversity of Canadians who served in the First World War.
The Memorial
The Battle of Hill 70, fought from August 15 to 25, 1917, was the first major engagement commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Currie as leader of the Canadian Corps. Canadian forces captured and held the strategically critical ground overlooking Lens under 21 German counter-attacks. 9,198 Canadian soldiers were killed, wounded, or reported missing during the battle.
Private Hasan Amat was killed in action on 20 August 1917, four days into the battle. He has no known grave. He is commemorated on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France, which lists members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force who died in France and have no known resting place.
The Hill 70 Memorial: www.hill70.ca
The Initiative
The bench and plaque project has been approved by The Hill 70 Memorial board (April 2026).
To our knowledge, this is the first dedicated permanent commemorative memorial to a Canadian Muslim soldier of the First World War.
The plaque wording has been finalized:
Private Hasan Amat
1st Battalion (Western Ontario Regiment), CEF
Killed in Action at Hill 70, France, 20 August 1917
First known Muslim soldier of the First World War killed in action in Canadian service
A Hill 70 Memorial board site survey is scheduled for June 2026, with installation planned for August 2026, ahead of the 109th anniversary of the Battle of Hill 70.
Support
Daniyal and Harris Elahi raised $20,000 of the $25,000 cost through private donations. A member of The Hill 70 Memorial contributed the final $5,000. The bench and plaque are fully funded.
Charitable donations for ongoing Our Shared Sacrifice programming are administered by the Canadian Relief & Development Agency (Charity No. 82109 4273 RR0001). Donors receive official Canadian charitable tax receipts.