• Son of William Valentine & Catherine Lawerince of Fort William, Ontario.
• According to his attestation papers, William Valentine was born 02 Sep 1893 although later census documents give his birth as in August of 1894. With his birth surname of Laurenson, his mother was Catherine Laurenson, daughter of Robert and Eliza (Perrault) Laurenson.
• William and his two younger siblings, Barbara born 10 Aug 1896 and Robert, born 02 Jun 1899, lived with their mother and grandparents for their younger years. Grandfather Robert Laurenson hailed from Nesting and Lunnasting in the county of Shetland in Scotland, having signed a contract with the Hudson's Bay Company on 09 Feb 1864. He served in a number of districts in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario, latterly as post master of Rat Portage (later renamed as Kenora) from 1874-1877. He had married a Cree woman, Eliza Perrault.
• In the 1891 Canada census, Robert and Eliza with children Eliza, Catherine, and Agnes were living in Rat Portage East, Robert working as an "Indian trader". The 1901 Canada census found Robert, Eliza, daughter Catherine, and grandchildren William, Barbara, and Robert living "outside of Rat Portage", Robert working as a trapper.
• William's mother Catherine married David Bowhey Valentine on 17 Jan 1903 in Rat Portage, Catherine's birth place given as Northwest Angle (Lake of the Woods) and David's as St Thomas. David's occupation was given as farmer but he had worked for a number of years as a Northwest Mounted Police constable. On 02 Sep 1903, David Alvin Valentine was born. At some point after this marriage and before enlisting, William assumed the surname of Valentine.
• Catherine Laurenson Valentine died 06 Nov 1909 in Kenora of tuberculosis, a disease that was rampant at the time. On 11 Jun 1910, David married Mary Ann Begg, daughter of Juliet (Sturgeon) and John Begg of Kenora. Two children were born from this marriage, Mable Mary on 21 Mar 1911, and Thomas on 22 Nov 1912.
• William Valentine enlisted on 15 Jan 1915 in Kenora. Very much an outdoors man, he worked steamboating in the summers and lumbering with the loading gangs in the winters. While still in Kenora, on 01 Jun 1915, William married Dorothy "Dolly" Parker, daughter of George and Marie (Holmes) Parker, formerly of London, England.
• On 15 Jun 1915 William was on his way to Port Arthur to begin training with the 52nd Battalion before leaving for overseas. "The 52nd (New Ontario) Battalion, CEF was raised in Northern Ontario during the spring of 1915 with its mobilization headquarters at Port Arthur (Thunder Bay), Ontario. On 04 Nov 1915 the Battalion moved by train to St. John, New Brunswick arriving on 08 Nov 1915. On 22 Nov 1915 the Battalion sailed from St. John for Plymouth, England onboard the S.S. California. The Battalion arrived at Plymouth, England on 03 Dec 1915. From Plymouth the Battalion moved directly to Witley Camp for 6 weeks of training under British instructors. The Battalion joined the 9th Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division on 23 Feb 1916 and thus began the trial by fire for the men of the north in the trenches of France and Belgium."
• It wasn't long after arriving in France that William suffered a buried fracture to his left fore arm in June 1916 while at Ypres. He spent two months recuperating in the Canadian Casualty Assembly Centre, Folkstone, and then another month at the Canadian Convalescing Hospital, Bearwood.
• However, ill health continued to plague William in the form of chest/lung infections. On 31 Jan 1917, he was admitted to the Canadian Military Hospital at Bramshott, and was later diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis, the same illness that had taken the life of his mother. Classified as seriously ill, his wife was sent a notifying telegram.
• On 25 May 1917, orders came that Lance Corporal William was to be invalided back to Canada to the Mountain Military Sanitarium in Hamilton, Ontario. From the Nominal Roll of Men to be Discharged in Canada, William sailed on the Hospital Ship Araguaya from Liverpool, June 11, 1917, arriving in Halifax 22 June: 439078 L/Cpl. Valentine, W., Tubercular, Stretcher Case. After receiving word of the severity of her husband's illness, Dolly travelled to Hamilton but unfortunately he had passed away on 27 Aug 1917 due to tuberculosis, before her arrival at the sanitarium. William is buried in the Hamilton Cemetery in Hamilton, Ontario.
• William's wife Dolly trained as a nurse at McKellar General Hospital in Fort William, Ontario while William was overseas. She later married Albert Mullen, a telegraph operator formerly from Gatineau, Quebec, on 19 Mar 1921 in Fort William and moved to Glenwater, Ontario where William's medals and decorations, plaque and scroll, and Memorial Cross were sent. From William's service records it appears that she and William may have had a child.
• William's grandparents died in the Kenora area, Eliza on 04 Feb 1904, and Robert on 04 Apr 1906. David Valentine, William's stepfather, also signed up to serve, but due to poor health, he never went overseas. He went on to become Chief of Police in Transcona, Manitoba and died on 17 Aug 1921 in Transcona.
• William's sister Barbara married Arnold Skarra in Thunder Bay, Ontario on 23 Aug 1923. She died in 30 May 1961 in Port Arthur but is buried in Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora, Ontario. She and Arnold had three children. At the time of her death she was survived by her husband, the three children, brother Alvin, and several grandchildren.
• William's brother Robert Laurenson enlisted at Sarcee Camp, Alberta in May of 1918. With the Depot Squadron of Lord Strathcona's Horse (RC), he went overseas, later transferring to the Canadian Machine Gun Corps Depot in England. After the war he moved to Rochester, Alberta, home town of an Army buddy. He married Linda Ward in 1923 and the couple gave birth to a child the following May. A short time later Robert became very ill and was hospitalized in Edmonton. He died on 17 Aug 1924, with burial in the Peaceful Pines Cemetery, Rochester.
• Lance Corporal William Valentine is commemorated on page 342 of the First World War Book of Remembrance in Ottawa and on the Kenora Cenotaph.
• By Kenora Great War Project - honouring all who served, remembering those who died.
• notes: William's surname at birth was Laurenson (no birth record could be found but name supported in 1901 Canada Census)
• According to his attestation papers, William Valentine was born 02 Sep 1893 although later census documents give his birth as in August of 1894. With his birth surname of Laurenson, his mother was Catherine Laurenson, daughter of Robert and Eliza (Perrault) Laurenson.
• William and his two younger siblings, Barbara born 10 Aug 1896 and Robert, born 02 Jun 1899, lived with their mother and grandparents for their younger years. Grandfather Robert Laurenson hailed from Nesting and Lunnasting in the county of Shetland in Scotland, having signed a contract with the Hudson's Bay Company on 09 Feb 1864. He served in a number of districts in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario, latterly as post master of Rat Portage (later renamed as Kenora) from 1874-1877. He had married a Cree woman, Eliza Perrault.
• In the 1891 Canada census, Robert and Eliza with children Eliza, Catherine, and Agnes were living in Rat Portage East, Robert working as an "Indian trader". The 1901 Canada census found Robert, Eliza, daughter Catherine, and grandchildren William, Barbara, and Robert living "outside of Rat Portage", Robert working as a trapper.
• William's mother Catherine married David Bowhey Valentine on 17 Jan 1903 in Rat Portage, Catherine's birth place given as Northwest Angle (Lake of the Woods) and David's as St Thomas. David's occupation was given as farmer but he had worked for a number of years as a Northwest Mounted Police constable. On 02 Sep 1903, David Alvin Valentine was born. At some point after this marriage and before enlisting, William assumed the surname of Valentine.
• Catherine Laurenson Valentine died 06 Nov 1909 in Kenora of tuberculosis, a disease that was rampant at the time. On 11 Jun 1910, David married Mary Ann Begg, daughter of Juliet (Sturgeon) and John Begg of Kenora. Two children were born from this marriage, Mable Mary on 21 Mar 1911, and Thomas on 22 Nov 1912.
• William Valentine enlisted on 15 Jan 1915 in Kenora. Very much an outdoors man, he worked steamboating in the summers and lumbering with the loading gangs in the winters. While still in Kenora, on 01 Jun 1915, William married Dorothy "Dolly" Parker, daughter of George and Marie (Holmes) Parker, formerly of London, England.
• On 15 Jun 1915 William was on his way to Port Arthur to begin training with the 52nd Battalion before leaving for overseas. "The 52nd (New Ontario) Battalion, CEF was raised in Northern Ontario during the spring of 1915 with its mobilization headquarters at Port Arthur (Thunder Bay), Ontario. On 04 Nov 1915 the Battalion moved by train to St. John, New Brunswick arriving on 08 Nov 1915. On 22 Nov 1915 the Battalion sailed from St. John for Plymouth, England onboard the S.S. California. The Battalion arrived at Plymouth, England on 03 Dec 1915. From Plymouth the Battalion moved directly to Witley Camp for 6 weeks of training under British instructors. The Battalion joined the 9th Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division on 23 Feb 1916 and thus began the trial by fire for the men of the north in the trenches of France and Belgium."
• It wasn't long after arriving in France that William suffered a buried fracture to his left fore arm in June 1916 while at Ypres. He spent two months recuperating in the Canadian Casualty Assembly Centre, Folkstone, and then another month at the Canadian Convalescing Hospital, Bearwood.
• However, ill health continued to plague William in the form of chest/lung infections. On 31 Jan 1917, he was admitted to the Canadian Military Hospital at Bramshott, and was later diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis, the same illness that had taken the life of his mother. Classified as seriously ill, his wife was sent a notifying telegram.
• On 25 May 1917, orders came that Lance Corporal William was to be invalided back to Canada to the Mountain Military Sanitarium in Hamilton, Ontario. From the Nominal Roll of Men to be Discharged in Canada, William sailed on the Hospital Ship Araguaya from Liverpool, June 11, 1917, arriving in Halifax 22 June: 439078 L/Cpl. Valentine, W., Tubercular, Stretcher Case. After receiving word of the severity of her husband's illness, Dolly travelled to Hamilton but unfortunately he had passed away on 27 Aug 1917 due to tuberculosis, before her arrival at the sanitarium. William is buried in the Hamilton Cemetery in Hamilton, Ontario.
• William's wife Dolly trained as a nurse at McKellar General Hospital in Fort William, Ontario while William was overseas. She later married Albert Mullen, a telegraph operator formerly from Gatineau, Quebec, on 19 Mar 1921 in Fort William and moved to Glenwater, Ontario where William's medals and decorations, plaque and scroll, and Memorial Cross were sent. From William's service records it appears that she and William may have had a child.
• William's grandparents died in the Kenora area, Eliza on 04 Feb 1904, and Robert on 04 Apr 1906. David Valentine, William's stepfather, also signed up to serve, but due to poor health, he never went overseas. He went on to become Chief of Police in Transcona, Manitoba and died on 17 Aug 1921 in Transcona.
• William's sister Barbara married Arnold Skarra in Thunder Bay, Ontario on 23 Aug 1923. She died in 30 May 1961 in Port Arthur but is buried in Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora, Ontario. She and Arnold had three children. At the time of her death she was survived by her husband, the three children, brother Alvin, and several grandchildren.
• William's brother Robert Laurenson enlisted at Sarcee Camp, Alberta in May of 1918. With the Depot Squadron of Lord Strathcona's Horse (RC), he went overseas, later transferring to the Canadian Machine Gun Corps Depot in England. After the war he moved to Rochester, Alberta, home town of an Army buddy. He married Linda Ward in 1923 and the couple gave birth to a child the following May. A short time later Robert became very ill and was hospitalized in Edmonton. He died on 17 Aug 1924, with burial in the Peaceful Pines Cemetery, Rochester.
• Lance Corporal William Valentine is commemorated on page 342 of the First World War Book of Remembrance in Ottawa and on the Kenora Cenotaph.
• By Kenora Great War Project - honouring all who served, remembering those who died.
• notes: William's surname at birth was Laurenson (no birth record could be found but name supported in 1901 Canada Census)
• Son of William Valentine & Catherine Lawerince of Fort William, Ontario.
• According to his attestation papers, William Valentine was born 02 Sep 1893 although later census documents give his birth as in August of 1894. With his birth surname of Laurenson, his mother was Catherine Laurenson, daughter of Robert and Eliza (Perrault) Laurenson.
• William and his two younger siblings, Barbara born 10 Aug 1896 and Robert, born 02 Jun 1899, lived with their mother and grandparents for their younger years. Grandfather Robert Laurenson hailed from Nesting and Lunnasting in the county of Shetland in Scotland, having signed a contract with the Hudson's Bay Company on 09 Feb 1864. He served in a number of districts in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario, latterly as post master of Rat Portage (later renamed as Kenora) from 1874-1877. He had married a Cree woman, Eliza Perrault.
• In the 1891 Canada census, Robert and Eliza with children Eliza, Catherine, and Agnes were living in Rat Portage East, Robert working as an "Indian trader". The 1901 Canada census found Robert, Eliza, daughter Catherine, and grandchildren William, Barbara, and Robert living "outside of Rat Portage", Robert working as a trapper.
• William's mother Catherine married David Bowhey Valentine on 17 Jan 1903 in Rat Portage, Catherine's birth place given as Northwest Angle (Lake of the Woods) and David's as St Thomas. David's occupation was given as farmer but he had worked for a number of years as a Northwest Mounted Police constable. On 02 Sep 1903, David Alvin Valentine was born. At some point after this marriage and before enlisting, William assumed the surname of Valentine.
• Catherine Laurenson Valentine died 06 Nov 1909 in Kenora of tuberculosis, a disease that was rampant at the time. On 11 Jun 1910, David married Mary Ann Begg, daughter of Juliet (Sturgeon) and John Begg of Kenora. Two children were born from this marriage, Mable Mary on 21 Mar 1911, and Thomas on 22 Nov 1912.
• William Valentine enlisted on 15 Jan 1915 in Kenora. Very much an outdoors man, he worked steamboating in the summers and lumbering with the loading gangs in the winters. While still in Kenora, on 01 Jun 1915, William married Dorothy "Dolly" Parker, daughter of George and Marie (Holmes) Parker, formerly of London, England.
• On 15 Jun 1915 William was on his way to Port Arthur to begin training with the 52nd Battalion before leaving for overseas. "The 52nd (New Ontario) Battalion, CEF was raised in Northern Ontario during the spring of 1915 with its mobilization headquarters at Port Arthur (Thunder Bay), Ontario. On 04 Nov 1915 the Battalion moved by train to St. John, New Brunswick arriving on 08 Nov 1915. On 22 Nov 1915 the Battalion sailed from St. John for Plymouth, England onboard the S.S. California. The Battalion arrived at Plymouth, England on 03 Dec 1915. From Plymouth the Battalion moved directly to Witley Camp for 6 weeks of training under British instructors. The Battalion joined the 9th Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division on 23 Feb 1916 and thus began the trial by fire for the men of the north in the trenches of France and Belgium."
• It wasn't long after arriving in France that William suffered a buried fracture to his left fore arm in June 1916 while at Ypres. He spent two months recuperating in the Canadian Casualty Assembly Centre, Folkstone, and then another month at the Canadian Convalescing Hospital, Bearwood.
• However, ill health continued to plague William in the form of chest/lung infections. On 31 Jan 1917, he was admitted to the Canadian Military Hospital at Bramshott, and was later diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis, the same illness that had taken the life of his mother. Classified as seriously ill, his wife was sent a notifying telegram.
• On 25 May 1917, orders came that Lance Corporal William was to be invalided back to Canada to the Mountain Military Sanitarium in Hamilton, Ontario. From the Nominal Roll of Men to be Discharged in Canada, William sailed on the Hospital Ship Araguaya from Liverpool, June 11, 1917, arriving in Halifax 22 June: 439078 L/Cpl. Valentine, W., Tubercular, Stretcher Case. After receiving word of the severity of her husband's illness, Dolly travelled to Hamilton but unfortunately he had passed away on 27 Aug 1917 due to tuberculosis, before her arrival at the sanitarium. William is buried in the Hamilton Cemetery in Hamilton, Ontario.
• William's wife Dolly trained as a nurse at McKellar General Hospital in Fort William, Ontario while William was overseas. She later married Albert Mullen, a telegraph operator formerly from Gatineau, Quebec, on 19 Mar 1921 in Fort William and moved to Glenwater, Ontario where William's medals and decorations, plaque and scroll, and Memorial Cross were sent. From William's service records it appears that she and William may have had a child.
• William's grandparents died in the Kenora area, Eliza on 04 Feb 1904, and Robert on 04 Apr 1906. David Valentine, William's stepfather, also signed up to serve, but due to poor health, he never went overseas. He went on to become Chief of Police in Transcona, Manitoba and died on 17 Aug 1921 in Transcona.
• William's sister Barbara married Arnold Skarra in Thunder Bay, Ontario on 23 Aug 1923. She died in 30 May 1961 in Port Arthur but is buried in Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora, Ontario. She and Arnold had three children. At the time of her death she was survived by her husband, the three children, brother Alvin, and several grandchildren.
• William's brother Robert Laurenson enlisted at Sarcee Camp, Alberta in May of 1918. With the Depot Squadron of Lord Strathcona's Horse (RC), he went overseas, later transferring to the Canadian Machine Gun Corps Depot in England. After the war he moved to Rochester, Alberta, home town of an Army buddy. He married Linda Ward in 1923 and the couple gave birth to a child the following May. A short time later Robert became very ill and was hospitalized in Edmonton. He died on 17 Aug 1924, with burial in the Peaceful Pines Cemetery, Rochester.
• Lance Corporal William Valentine is commemorated on page 342 of the First World War Book of Remembrance in Ottawa and on the Kenora Cenotaph.
• By Kenora Great War Project - honouring all who served, remembering those who died.
• notes: William's surname at birth was Laurenson (no birth record could be found but name supported in 1901 Canada Census)
• According to his attestation papers, William Valentine was born 02 Sep 1893 although later census documents give his birth as in August of 1894. With his birth surname of Laurenson, his mother was Catherine Laurenson, daughter of Robert and Eliza (Perrault) Laurenson.
• William and his two younger siblings, Barbara born 10 Aug 1896 and Robert, born 02 Jun 1899, lived with their mother and grandparents for their younger years. Grandfather Robert Laurenson hailed from Nesting and Lunnasting in the county of Shetland in Scotland, having signed a contract with the Hudson's Bay Company on 09 Feb 1864. He served in a number of districts in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario, latterly as post master of Rat Portage (later renamed as Kenora) from 1874-1877. He had married a Cree woman, Eliza Perrault.
• In the 1891 Canada census, Robert and Eliza with children Eliza, Catherine, and Agnes were living in Rat Portage East, Robert working as an "Indian trader". The 1901 Canada census found Robert, Eliza, daughter Catherine, and grandchildren William, Barbara, and Robert living "outside of Rat Portage", Robert working as a trapper.
• William's mother Catherine married David Bowhey Valentine on 17 Jan 1903 in Rat Portage, Catherine's birth place given as Northwest Angle (Lake of the Woods) and David's as St Thomas. David's occupation was given as farmer but he had worked for a number of years as a Northwest Mounted Police constable. On 02 Sep 1903, David Alvin Valentine was born. At some point after this marriage and before enlisting, William assumed the surname of Valentine.
• Catherine Laurenson Valentine died 06 Nov 1909 in Kenora of tuberculosis, a disease that was rampant at the time. On 11 Jun 1910, David married Mary Ann Begg, daughter of Juliet (Sturgeon) and John Begg of Kenora. Two children were born from this marriage, Mable Mary on 21 Mar 1911, and Thomas on 22 Nov 1912.
• William Valentine enlisted on 15 Jan 1915 in Kenora. Very much an outdoors man, he worked steamboating in the summers and lumbering with the loading gangs in the winters. While still in Kenora, on 01 Jun 1915, William married Dorothy "Dolly" Parker, daughter of George and Marie (Holmes) Parker, formerly of London, England.
• On 15 Jun 1915 William was on his way to Port Arthur to begin training with the 52nd Battalion before leaving for overseas. "The 52nd (New Ontario) Battalion, CEF was raised in Northern Ontario during the spring of 1915 with its mobilization headquarters at Port Arthur (Thunder Bay), Ontario. On 04 Nov 1915 the Battalion moved by train to St. John, New Brunswick arriving on 08 Nov 1915. On 22 Nov 1915 the Battalion sailed from St. John for Plymouth, England onboard the S.S. California. The Battalion arrived at Plymouth, England on 03 Dec 1915. From Plymouth the Battalion moved directly to Witley Camp for 6 weeks of training under British instructors. The Battalion joined the 9th Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division on 23 Feb 1916 and thus began the trial by fire for the men of the north in the trenches of France and Belgium."
• It wasn't long after arriving in France that William suffered a buried fracture to his left fore arm in June 1916 while at Ypres. He spent two months recuperating in the Canadian Casualty Assembly Centre, Folkstone, and then another month at the Canadian Convalescing Hospital, Bearwood.
• However, ill health continued to plague William in the form of chest/lung infections. On 31 Jan 1917, he was admitted to the Canadian Military Hospital at Bramshott, and was later diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis, the same illness that had taken the life of his mother. Classified as seriously ill, his wife was sent a notifying telegram.
• On 25 May 1917, orders came that Lance Corporal William was to be invalided back to Canada to the Mountain Military Sanitarium in Hamilton, Ontario. From the Nominal Roll of Men to be Discharged in Canada, William sailed on the Hospital Ship Araguaya from Liverpool, June 11, 1917, arriving in Halifax 22 June: 439078 L/Cpl. Valentine, W., Tubercular, Stretcher Case. After receiving word of the severity of her husband's illness, Dolly travelled to Hamilton but unfortunately he had passed away on 27 Aug 1917 due to tuberculosis, before her arrival at the sanitarium. William is buried in the Hamilton Cemetery in Hamilton, Ontario.
• William's wife Dolly trained as a nurse at McKellar General Hospital in Fort William, Ontario while William was overseas. She later married Albert Mullen, a telegraph operator formerly from Gatineau, Quebec, on 19 Mar 1921 in Fort William and moved to Glenwater, Ontario where William's medals and decorations, plaque and scroll, and Memorial Cross were sent. From William's service records it appears that she and William may have had a child.
• William's grandparents died in the Kenora area, Eliza on 04 Feb 1904, and Robert on 04 Apr 1906. David Valentine, William's stepfather, also signed up to serve, but due to poor health, he never went overseas. He went on to become Chief of Police in Transcona, Manitoba and died on 17 Aug 1921 in Transcona.
• William's sister Barbara married Arnold Skarra in Thunder Bay, Ontario on 23 Aug 1923. She died in 30 May 1961 in Port Arthur but is buried in Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora, Ontario. She and Arnold had three children. At the time of her death she was survived by her husband, the three children, brother Alvin, and several grandchildren.
• William's brother Robert Laurenson enlisted at Sarcee Camp, Alberta in May of 1918. With the Depot Squadron of Lord Strathcona's Horse (RC), he went overseas, later transferring to the Canadian Machine Gun Corps Depot in England. After the war he moved to Rochester, Alberta, home town of an Army buddy. He married Linda Ward in 1923 and the couple gave birth to a child the following May. A short time later Robert became very ill and was hospitalized in Edmonton. He died on 17 Aug 1924, with burial in the Peaceful Pines Cemetery, Rochester.
• Lance Corporal William Valentine is commemorated on page 342 of the First World War Book of Remembrance in Ottawa and on the Kenora Cenotaph.
• By Kenora Great War Project - honouring all who served, remembering those who died.
• notes: William's surname at birth was Laurenson (no birth record could be found but name supported in 1901 Canada Census)
Inscription
439078 Lance Corporal
William Valentine
52nd Bn Canadian Infantry
27th August 1917 Age 22
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