Personal Details | |
Date of Birth | July 31, 1898 |
Place of Birth | Northampton, Northamptonshire |
Country | England |
Marital Status | Single |
Next of Kin | mother, Jane Wilcox of 16 Cecil Road, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England |
Trade / Calling | Boot & shoe trade |
Religion | Church of England |
Service Details | |
Regimental Number | 7810934 |
Battalion | 12th Machine Gun Company |
Force | British Army |
Branch | Machine Gun Corps |
Enlisted / Conscripted | Conscripted |
Address at Enlistment | 16 Cecil Road, Northampton |
Date of Enlistment | October 18, 1916 |
Age at Enlistment | 18 |
Theatre of Service | Egypt and India |
Prisoner of War | No |
Survived War | Yes |
Death Details | |
Date of Death | January 16, 1975 |
Age at Death | 76 |
Buried At | Lake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario |
Plot | 12E-39-2 |
Henry Wilcox was born on 31 July 1898 in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England. He was the youngest son of William and Jane Wilcox. Siblings included Jane, Lizzie, Mercy, Elsie, Dora, John and William. His father was a shoemaker and Henry followed in his footsteps working in the boot and shoe trade.
When Henry was called up for service in the British army on 18 October 1916 he listed a preference to serve with the ‘Canadians’. However, he was placed in the reserve until 31 August 1917 when he was assigned to the Middlesex Regiment as a private and given the # 194038. On the 06 November 1917 Henry was transferred to the Machine Gun Corps and given the #126664. He served in Egypt as a machine gunner and was evaluated as being ‘thoroughly reliable, intelligent and painstaking’. In March of 1919 Henry reattested with the Machine Gun Corps and his number was changed again to #7810934. By December of 1919 he was a Sergeant with the 12th Battalion Machine Gun Corps serving with the European Expeditionary Force in Bombay, India. In April of 1920 he received the evaluation ‘a smart, steady, sober man – industrious, trustworthy and well conducted’. Henry continued to serve until 21 March 1921.
In April of 1927 Henry immigrated to Canada and under a Land Settlement grant took up farming in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He married Ellen Kirton in Swift Current, Saskatchewan in 1928. They had five children: Pauline, Margaret, Douglas, Jim and Bob. After spending some time in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan the family relocated to Kenora, Ontario in 1950. Henry was employed by the Canadian Pacific Railway as a gardener and retired in 1959. He then worked for the Town of Kenora as a gardener until 1968.
Henry died on 16 January 1975 in Kenora and is buried in Lake of the Woods Cemetery.