SOLDIER DETAILS:
Croft,
William Charles (news
clipping)
Private 20th Battalion 140051
September 15, 1916
Vimy
Memorial, Vimy, France
Link to Milton under review by Automated Genealogy
Maple
Leaf Legacy Project |
Victoria Park Cenotaph
R. Laughton
Book of Remembrance
Parliament Buildings Ottawa
Vimy Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves
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Private Croft is
remembered on the Victoria Park Cenotaph in Milton ON.
He is also remembered in the Book of Remembrance at the
Parliament Buildings in Ottawa.
As with many Milton Soldiers of the
Great War, he is listed on
the Vimy Memorial in France, having no known place of
burial.
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SOLDIER SUMMARY:
| William Croft's papers tie him to Wales. His
beneficiary was his sister Emily Croft in Mountain Wash, Wales.
Genealogical records suggest that "Willie Croft" was a
labourer on the farm of Sarah
Campbell in Trafalgar Township. He attested with the 75th Infantry Battalion (Toronto
Scottish) on July 28, 1915.
He transferred to the 35th Battalion (a
reserve unit) on October 8, 1915 perhaps due to gonorrhea that
he contracted in England. His "Will" links him
to the 20th Canadian Battalion (4th Brigade, 2nd Canadian
Division).
Additional records show he did join the 20th on June
14, 1916 and was serving with them when killed in action on or
about September 15, 1916. Action at that time was near the
infamous "Sugar Factory" in Courcelette, France.
Toronto Star December 1916
Courcelette September 1916
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The soldier pages contain information
that is available from a number of resources. The following hyperlinks
are active where the information is available:
The summary of the service is taken from
the soldier's service records, if they were available from Library and
Archives Canada. A complete copy of the service record is
available in electronic and paper format in the Alex
Cooke Memorial Archives at the Milton Historical Society.
Using that summary, combined with the key references, a summary of the
events leading up to the death of the soldier has been prepared.
The research information available is as noted on the Canadian
Expeditionary Force Study Group web site Matrix
Project as well as in the Library and Archives Canada On-Line
War Diaries.
A summary of all the soldiers is
contained on the Web Blog "Great
War Soldiers of Milton, Ontario CANADA". Please also
be sure to purchase your own copy of "Milton
Remembers World War I - The Men and Women We Never Knew" by
John Challinor II and Jim Dills, edited by Ken Lamb. |
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