Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthMay 29, 1897
Place of BirthEagle River, Ontario
CountryCanada
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinFrank Edwards, father, Savanne, Ontario
Trade / CallingTrapper
ReligionChurch of England
Service Details
Regimental Number820916
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion141st Battalion
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Address at EnlistmentEagle River, Ontario
Date of EnlistmentJuly 18, 1916
Age at Enlistment19
Theatre of ServiceEurope
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathJuly 10, 1925
Age at Death28
Buried AtLake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario
Plot7E- 5-3

Edwards, William

According to his attestation papers, William Edwards was born on 29 May 1897 at Eagle River, Ontario and his father was Frank Edwards. There is an Ontario birth record for a William Edwards of Algoma that lists 13 May 1898 as his birth date. Parents on this record are Frank Edwards and Bella Perriot. The 1901 Canadian census shows a William Edwards, age 5, living on Eagle River Reserve with his father William Auger and sister Mary Auger. It is not known if these are records for the William Edwards in this tribute.

William was working as a trapper and lumberman when, on 18 July 1916 he enlisted with the 141st Battalion in Dryden, Ontario. At this time his father was in Savanne, Ontario and William named a sister, Maggie Dixon of Dryden, in his will. In March of 1917 he went into a two week isolation in Winnipeg with the measles. William traveled to England with the 141st Battalion in May of 1917. Soon after his arrival he began spitting blood. He was transferred to the 44th Battalion and and sent to France in June of 1917.  His condition worsened and in July he was admitted to hospital in Etaples. It was suspected that he had tuberculosis. This diagnosis was confirmed at a Military Hospital back in England. By November 1917 William was listed as ‘seriously ill’. His condition improved slightly and on 16 February 1918 William was invalided back to Canada for further treatment. He was discharged from service on 19 August 1918.

The 1921 Canadian Census shows William as a patient at the Ninette Sanatorium.

William died on 10 July 1925 in Kenora, Ontario.  His Veteran Death Card lists ‘tuberculosis’ as the cause of death and notes that it was ‘due to service’.  His next of kin was his half sister, Annie Gardner, of Dinorwic, Ontario.  William was buried in Lake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora.

Edwards-William-1


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