Private William John Parker

Other Events:

• Interesting: military, story, misfortune
• Military: WW1
• Name: John William Parker
• Residence: Fergus, Nichol Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada
• Residence: Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: Fergus, Nichol Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada
• Residence: Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-352344
• Occupation: 1911, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Student
• Residence: 1911, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Methodist
• Military: 1914, WW1; WW1, Service #730723
• Military: 1914, WW1; WW1, Signaller, 111th South Waterloo Battalion / 10th Battalion / B.E.F.
• Misfortune: 1917; Killed in WW1
• Website: 2009; Photograph

Notes:

Poet soldier foresaw his death at battle that was 'worse than Vimy'

.....The first day of fighting at Hill 70 was the last day for William Parker , 21, a bookkeeper and championship hockey player from Preston.

Parker crouched in a dark trench before 4 a.m. with his comrades. Silently, they waited for a whistle to tell them to go over the top, to attack the enemy near German-occupied Lens, in northeastern France.

Hill 70 was a treeless expanse that dominates Lens, commanding the view of the plain beyond. It was a tactical advantage to hold it near the busiest coal mining area of France.

Whistles broke the silence at 4: 25 a.m. as dawn was breaking. Parker and his comrades climbed out of the trenches, heading across no man's land while Canadian bombs fell just 70 metres ahead of them. The barrage kept the enemy pinned underground for as long as possible. Canada also fired drums of burning oil to create a smokescreen to shield advancing troops.

Parker laid communication wires while the battle raged around him. He stayed in place through two German counterattacks and returned to headquarters for more materials. At 4 p.m., while he was conversing with officers, a burst of shrapnel hit him in the stomach and neck.....

Outhit, J. (2017). Poet soldier foresaw his death at battle that was 'worse than Vimy' | TheRecord.com. TheRecord.com. Retrieved 15 August 2017, from https://www.therecord.com/news-story/7502417-poet-soldier-foresaw-his-death-at-battle-that-was-worse-than-vimy-/

Website:
Grace Schmidt Room of Local History Digital Collection

Description: Black and white, studio photograph inside a photo cover, of William John Parker, in uniform.

Notes: William John Parker was educated at Preston and Galt Collegiate Institutes. He served as a signaller during the war. He enlisted with the South Waterloo 111th Battalion and later transferred to the 10th Battalion of the British Expeditionary Force. He was killed at Hill 70 on 15 August 1917.