William Grant Cameron was born at Sawyerville, Quebec, on 27 November 1914 and attended Cookshire High School. A driver by trade, he had previously served with the 7th/11th Hussars in the Non-Permanent Active Militia. He married Hilda Adeline Cameron at the United Church in Cookshire on 27 September 1939 and enlisted at Montreal on 6 October 1939 with the Royal Montreal Regiment (M.G.). Cameron proceeded overseas in December 1939 and later transferred to the 1st Canadian Pioneer Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers. He was appointed Acting Lance Corporal in September 1940. On 8 November 1940 he was admitted to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital at Taplow, Buckinghamshire, with cerebrospinal meningitis. He died there on 19 November 1940 and was buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery.
Conflict:
WW2
Regimental No.:
D/76688
Cause of Death (in war):
Died of Illness
Branch:
Army
Regiment:
Royal Canadian Engineers
Battalion:
1st Canadian Pioneer Battalion
Company:
Date of Birth :
Place of Birth:
Sawyerville, Quebec
Date of Enlistment:
Age at Enlistment:
24 years 10 months
Date of Discharge:
Age at Discharge:
25 years 11 months
Date of Death:
Age at Death:
25 years 11 months
Country Born:
Canada
Trade or Calling:
Driver
Next of Kin:
Wife: Hilda Adeline Cameron, Sawyerville, Quebec
Address at Enlistment:
Morin Heights, Quebec
Religion:
Church of England
Place of Enlistment:
Montreal, Quebec
Was a Prisoner of War:
No
Height:
5 ft 4.0 in / 163 cm
Weight:
145 lbs / 66 kg
Chest:
39.0 in / 99 cm
Expansion:
2.0 in / 5 cm
Marital Status:
Not Specified
Prior Military Experience:
Yes
Saw Service in:
Great Britain
Place of Discharge:
Discharge Type:
Regular/End of Service
Discharge Notes:
Died in service on 19 November 1940 at No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England, from cerebrospinal meningitis.
Battle Died/Wounded:
Length of Service:
410 days in service
Buried at:
Links
Ranks
| Conflict |
Rank |
Regiment |
Branch |
Unit |
Company |
Date From |
Date To |
| WW2 |
Lance Corporal |
Royal Canadian Engineers |
Army |
1st Canadian Pioneer Battalion |
|
|
|
| Acting Lance Corporal. Record of Service initially notes appointment without pay on 11 Sep 1940, then entitlement to rank/pay effective the same date; Soldier's Service Book explicitly records 'Lance Cpl — Act. with pay'. Later casualty/graves/pay records use A/L/Cpl or L/Cpl. War Service Gratuity form later lists Pte.; preserve as conflicting administrative evidence. |
| WW2 |
Private |
Royal Canadian Engineers |
Army |
1st Canadian Pioneer Battalion |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Private |
Royal Montreal Regiment (M.G.) |
Army |
|
|
|
|
Service Chronology
1914-11-27 — Born at Sawyerville, Quebec.
1922–1932 — Attended Cookshire High School; record states high-school graduation/matriculation.
1939-09-27 — Married Hilda Adeline Cameron at the United Church.
1939-10-06 — Enlisted in the Canadian Active Service Force as a Private with the Royal Montreal Regiment (M.G.).
1939-12-06 — Proceeded overseas.
1939-12-18 — Arrived in England.
1940-07-26–1940-08-02 — Granted leave.
1940-09-09 — Struck off strength of Royal Montreal Regiment and transferred/taken on strength of 1st Canadian Pioneer Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers.
1940-09-11 — Appointed Acting Lance Corporal; contemporary records support acting rank with pay effective this date.
1940-11-08 — Admitted seriously ill to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital with cerebrospinal meningitis; associated strength transfer recorded on admission.
1940-11-19 — Died at 12:40 at No. 5 Canadian General Hospital from cerebrospinal meningitis.
1940-11-22 — Buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery, Plot III, Row Q, Grave 3.
1940-11-26 — Department of National Defence requested family and estate information from his widow.
1940-12-02 — Widow completed and certified the statement of relatives/estate information.
1941-01-07 — Canadian message concerning his death was dispatched.
1941-03-24 — Personal effects were checked and repacked for estate processing.
1941-05-23 — Death certificate and burial report were sent to the next of kin.
Notes
Born 27 November 1914 at Sawyerville, Quebec. Educated at Cookshire High School (1922–1932), with high-school graduation/matriculation. Attestation and death records give civilian trade as driver/teamster; the widow's posthumous estate statement describes his employment as sales clerk. Service record notes 11 years with the 7th/11th Hussars (N.P.A.M.).
Additional Service Notes
Enlisted in the Royal Montreal Regiment (M.G.) on 6 October 1939; proceeded overseas 6 December 1939 and arrived in England 18 December 1939. Transferred to the 1st Canadian Pioneer Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers, on 9 September 1940. Appointed Acting Lance Corporal effective 11 September 1940; the Soldier's Service Book records the appointment as 'Act. with pay'. Admitted to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital at Taplow on 8 November 1940 and died there on 19 November 1940.
Additional Next of Kin Notes
Married Hilda Adeline Cameron on 27 September 1939 at the United Church, Cookshire, Quebec. No children were recorded. Father William Robert Cameron died 25 July 1939; mother Gladys Taylor Cameron died 27 April 1933. Siblings recorded in the later estate statement were Colin Floyd Cameron (age 20, serving with the Royal Rifles of Canada, C.A.S.F.), Gordon Taylor Cameron (age 18, Huntingdon, Quebec), and Shirley Elizabeth Cameron (age 17, 2287 Harvard Avenue, Montreal, Quebec). The service book also names Joseph Edgar Beale of Sutton, Quebec as an 'other relation'.
Research Notes
Service file includes the soldier's service/pay book and a photograph of his original grave marker. Contemporaneous rank evidence supports Acting Lance Corporal from 11 September 1940: the service book records 'Lance Cpl — Act. with pay', while the Record of Service first notes appointment without pay and then entitlement to rank/pay from the same effective date. Casualty, graves and final-pay records also identify him as A/L/Cpl or L/Cpl; a later War Service Gratuity statement lists final rank as Private and is retained as a conflicting administrative record. A graves card adds the parenthetical 'encephalitis' to cerebrospinal meningitis, but multiple formal death records consistently give cerebrospinal meningitis as the cause of death. Brother Colin Floyd Cameron appears to have been serving with the Royal Rifles of Canada, C.A.S.F., and merits separate research. Widow's estate statement says Cameron made a will according to Army regulations and records Mutual Life insurance. Personal effects included a wallet with an Irish penny, a farthing and driver's licence; cigarette tin with notepaper; soap dish; electric torch; ball of white wool; shaving brush; toothbrush; envelope of snapshots; fountain pen; comb; aluminium identity disc; notebook; key; pocket knife; tooth powder; talcum powder; shaving cream; Pepsodent; New Testament; two razors; wrist strap; top of a swagger cane; tweezers; playing cards; three packets of cigarette papers; packet of letters; white wool pullover; four pairs of socks; First Aid Book; War Office driver's pass; two Standing Orders for Drivers booklets; and eight handkerchiefs.
