Attractions

Tommy Ricketts Monument

Thomas Ricketts was the boy soldier who enlisted to fight in the First World War when he was just 15, and who like many of his buddies, lied about his age to enlist. In October 1918, he was one of the few Newfoundlanders to be awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) when he was still two years too young to be on the front. It is the highest honour for valour in the face of the enemy that a member of the armed forces of a British Commonwealth country can receive. In the 152 years that the VC has existed, it has been awarded just 1,356 times. Private Ricketts' family donated his Victoria Cross to the Canadian War Museum in 2003. Ricketts, who died in 1967 at the age of 65, was also awarded the French Croix de Guerre during the First World War.

Thomas Ricketts returned to St. John's and trained as a pharmacist. A monument stands today on Water Street (across from the Railway Coastal Museum), which was the site of his drugstore. Opened in 1934, many people have fond memories of the pharmacy and the man who ran it. Ricketts was known to many as the primary health-care provider for the west end of St. John's.

A monument to Ricketts was erected some years ago on the corner of Water and Job streets where he ran a drugstore after the war. In July 2007 the memorial was remodelled and rededicated to Ricketts and his family.

Street:
Water Street (across from Railway Coastal Museum)