Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthMay 6, 1885
Place of BirthPetawawa, Ontario
CountryCanada
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinMrs. Ida Derry, sister, Kenora PO, Ontario
Trade / CallingWoodsman
ReligionRoman Catholic
Service Details
Regimental Number4079056
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion1st Depot Battalion, Manitoba Regiment
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedConscripted
Address at EnlistmentKenora, Ontario
Date of EnlistmentNovember 11, 1917
Age at Enlistment32
Theatre of ServiceGreat Britain
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details

Bellefeuille, William Joseph

William Joseph Bellefeuille was born on 06 May 1885 in Petawawa, Ontario. He was the youngest child of Gabriel Bellefeuille and Sarah Knight. Siblings included: Ebenezer, Levi (1867-1924), Maria Louisa (1870-1949), Mary Isabella (1871-1938), Sarah Alma (1873-1938), Ida Matilda (1875-1956), Gabriel (1877-) Theophile (1879-1933) and John (1882-).

By 1901 the Bellefeuille family was living at Ash Rapids on Lake of the Woods and William listed his occupation as ‘engineer’. The 1911 Canadian Census shows William as a lodger in Kenora, Ontario working as a bushman.

WW1 broke out in 1914 and by 1917 Canada was conscripting soldiers for duty. William was called up and signed his attestation papers on 11 November 1917 in Port Arthur. It was noted that he was a defaulter (meaning he had not shown up when first ordered). Placed with the 1st Depot Battalion Manitoba Regiment, William had his medical exam on 14 May 1918. He spent a total of 32 days, beginning 06 June, in hospital in Port Arthur being treated for venereal disease, a condition he had acquired previous to enlisting. On 24 July William was transferred to #81 draft and was sent to England. When he arrived there on 15 August 1918 he was placed in the 18th reserve battalion. He stayed in the reserves in England until June 1919 when he was struck off strength and returned to Canada. His official discharge due to demobilization came on 24 June 1919.

William returned to Kenora and continued working in lumbering related jobs. He never married. A 1949 Voters’ List shows him working as a riverman for the Seine Lumber Company at Sapawe, Ontario. By 1957 he was retired and living in Fort Frances, Ontario.

Further details of William’s life are not known at this time.


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