Personal Details | |
Date of Birth | March 27, 1890 |
Place of Birth | Orillia, Ontario |
Country | Canada |
Marital Status | Single |
Next of Kin | Mrs Edith Elliott, mother, 770 O'Farrell St, San Francisco, California, USA |
Trade / Calling | Credit Manager and Accountant |
Religion | Church of England |
Service Details | |
Regimental Number | 911256 |
Service Record | Link to Service Record |
Battalion | 46th Battalion |
Force | Canadian Expeditionary Force |
Branch | Canadian Infantry |
Enlisted / Conscripted | Enlisted |
Place of Enlistment | Edmonton, Alberta |
Date of Enlistment | February 21, 1916 |
Age at Enlistment | 26 |
Theatre of Service | Europe |
Prisoner of War | No |
Survived War | Yes |
Death Details | |
Date of Death | July 9, 1968 |
Age at Death | 78 |
Buried At | Little Lake Cemetery, Peterborough, Ontario |
Plot | Section E |
William Arthur Elliott was born on 27 March 1890 in Orillia, Ontario. His parents were Thomas Huntley Elliott and Edith Brundrett, the couple marrying on 29 September 1886 in Peterborough, Ontario. At the time of the marriage Thomas was working as a boat builder. William had an older sister Marion Louise who was born in 1887 in Orillia.
At the time of the 1891 Canada census, the family was living in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora) in northwestern Ontario where Thomas was working as a furniture dealer. It appears that Thomas and Edith separated around 1900, with Edith and the two children moving to Peterborough by the 1901 census. For a while William lived in the Edmonton, Alberta area, applying for a homestead in 1908. By the time of the 1911 census he was back in Peterborough and living with his mother and working as a shipper.
William enlisted with the 196th Battalion on 21 February 1916 in Edmonton, Alberta. His occupation was given as credit manager and accountant, his place of birth as Peterborough, and his next of kin as his mother Edith who was living in San Francisco, California at the time. Previous military service was given as three years with the 57th Regiment in Peterborough.
With rank of Sergeant, William arrived in England with the battalion aboard the Southland on 11 November 1916. On 1 January 1917 he was taken on strength with the 19th Reserve Battalion at Seaford in England, and on 1 February he was appointed acting Colour Sergeant Instructor in Musketry. Reverting to ranks, William proceeded overseas that April, taken on strength with the 46th Battalion in the field on the 21st. A short time later, on 6 May in the vicinity of Givenchy/Vimy Ridge, William sustained shrapnel wounds to his chest, arm, and leg. First admitted to the 11th Canadian Field Ambulance and then transferred to the No 6 Canadian Casualty Clearing Company in Barlin, by the 10th he had been admitted to the No 2 Australian General Hospital in Wimereux. He was then invalided to England in early June where he was admitted to the Carrington Hospital in Nottingham. First transferring to the East Leeds War Hospital in Leeds in October, in November he was transferred to the No 16 Canadian General Hospital in Orpington, listed as dangerously ill with infection/abscess having set into his lung. By June of 1918 William was transferred to the No 5 Canadian General Hospital Kirkdale, Liverpool. Over the course of all his treatment two ribs were resected and his right lung had partially collapsed. That September it was decided that William be invalided to Canada, arriving in Quebec aboard the Tunisian on 7 October. Following further treatment, he was discharged from service on 29 March 1919 at Calgary in consequence of being medically unfit, rank of Sergeant. His intended residence was given as ℅ Great West Saddlery in Edmonton.
Not a lot is known about William’s life after the war. At the time of the 1921 census he was living in Peterborough with his uncle and aunt Robert and Jessie (née Brundrett) Layfield and was working as a bookkeeper. A notation in his service record for 1922 indicated that he was living in Saskatoon at the time and working for Barrie’s Limited. Voters lists for the 1940’s placed William in Peterborough where he was manager for Barrie’s. At some point he had married May Anderson.
William died on 9 July 1968 at the Civic Hospital in Peterborough. At the time of his death he was survived by his sister Marion (Arthur Charles) Faulkner as well as six nieces. He was predeceased by his mother Edith in 1945 in Peterborough as well as his wife May in 1956. Marion later died in 1988 in Ottawa, Ontario. Along with Edith and May, William is interred in the Little Lake Cemetery in Peterborough.
By Judy Stockham
Grave marker photographs by bblakel, findagrave.com.