Pte. William McCracken
1st Eastern Ontario Depot Battalion Regimental Number 3058844
William
Hilliard McCracken was born on December 9, 1897 in Dummer Township, Ontario to
parents James and Mary “Annie” McCracken.
The family farmed on Lot 20 on the 2nd Concession, near where
Bethel Church was located.
William
was residing near Lakefield when he received official notice to report to Barriefield
Camp under the Military Service Act on May 7th 1918. He was 21 and half years old, stood five
feet, five inches tall and weighed135 pounds.
He sported a dark complexion, grey eyes and brown hair. William listed his occupation as farmer, his
religion as Methodist and indicated that he was single. He had no previous military experience. It is interesting to note that William was
the second son of the McCrackens to be drafted that spring, as his older
brother Lawrence had been called up only two months earlier in March. Upon arriving at Barriefield, William was
found healthy with good physical development and placed in the A.2 Category,
which meant he was fit for overseas service.
He
was assigned as a private to the 1st Depot Battalion, Eastern Ontario
Regiment, and would train at Barriefield until being placed in an overseas
draft. Records show that William was
given a day’s leave on May 11th, the day after he arrived at Barriefield,
most likely as time to get his affairs in order. He returned the next day and continued
training there throughout June of 1918. In
mid-July, William was selected for a draft of soldiers to entrain for Halifax
and begin the journey overseas. He
sailed from that port aboard the S.S. Tunisian, and arrived safely in England
on July 22nd 1918. He was
assigned to the 6th Canadian Reserve Battalion at Seaford Camp,
England to continue his military training and await further posting to a Canadian
battalion at the front.
The
war ended before William was called up to fight in the battlefields of France. He remained in England until being sent back
to Canada on June 23rd 1919. He
arrived in Halifax on the first day of July and made his way to Kingston,
Ontario where he was discharged three days later.
William
was mentioned in the Peterborough Examiner to be among a small group of overseas
soldiers to return to the village of Warsaw on July 5th 1919. He continued to farm near Lakefield and later
married Mary Fairbairn in 1921. William
passed away in 1977 at the age of 81, he is buried in Lakefield Ontario.
Sources
Archives of Ontario; Toronto,
Ontario, Canada; MS929; Series: 139; Reel: MS929.
Archives of Ontario; Toronto,
Ontario, Canada; Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1928; Reel: 585
Library and Archives Canada. Census
of Canada, 1901. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Year: 1901; Census Place: Dummer,
Peterborough (east/est), Ontario; Page: 11; Family No: 104.
Canada. "Military Service File
of William Hilliard McCracken." Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa:
Record Group 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 6666-9. Item Number 142154.
Library and Archives Canada. Census
of Canada, 1911. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Year: 1911; Census Place: 19 - Dummer
Township, Warsaw Village, Peterborough East, Ontario; Page: 9; Family No: 107.
The National Archives at Washington,
D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Buffalo, Lewiston,
Niagara Falls, and Rochester, New York, 1902-1954; Record Group Title: Records
of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 - 2004; Record Group
Number: 85; Series Number: M1480; Roll Number: 083.
Voters Lists, Federal Elections,
1935–1980. R1003-6-3-E (RG113-B). Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada.
Library and Archives Canada. Sixth
Census of Canada, 1921. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Dummer (Township),
Peterborough East, Ontario; Page Number: 9.
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