William Thomas Belt (1880-1966)
Darlington farmer's son fought with the Canadian Expeditionary Force
Unlike his younger brother John Henry, William Thomas Belt did not have an eventful war.
William was the eldest of what would be a family of five, Annie May and Eliza Jane, William, James and John Henry; he was born on 6th February 1880 at Southend Mansions, Darlington, to father Richard, a cowman, and mother Elizabeth. By the 1911 census the family were living on their own 300 acre farm, Black Banks at Hurworth Moor, near Darlington, but by the 26th October of that year all of the family were on the “Empress of Britain” sailing from Liverpool to Canada and a new life in Saskatchewan.
Along with his new life on the farm, William Henry was also a member of the 52nd Regiment of Active Militia. He enlisted in the Candian Expeditionary Force six months after his younger brother on 10th April 1915 and by 3rd August fair complexioned William was in France serving with the 5th Canadian Infantry Battalion.
He succumbed to influenza in March 1916 and was relieved of his duties for 7 days, rejoining his battalion for some of the fighting at Ypres, William was treated for shellshock and hospitalised from 11th-19th June 1916.
William then proceeded to complete his time in France with no injuries or black marks against his name. He took his 2 weeks annual leave in England in November/December of each year, and his monthly pay continued to go to his mother in Prince Albert, $15 per month on enlisting, rising to $20 in 1916 and then $25.
He finally left France for England in March 1919 prior to sailing for Canada on board “Carminia” and then onwards to the Regina dispersal area; his final medical before discharge on 19th March 1919 listed his health as “very good”.
William returned to the farm in Saskatchewan where he lived with his father and mother, and sister Annie May. Elizabeth died in 1927, and his father, Richard in 1933. William never married.
William Henry Belt died on 14th March 1966 in Vancouver, British Columbia, he is buried in Nelson Memorial Park alongside Annie May, who had died 4 years earlier.
Civil Parish: Hurworth
Birth date: 1880-Feb-6
Death date: 1966-Mar-14
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: Southend Mansions, Darlington
Black Banks Farm, Hurworth Moor, Darlington (1911 census)
Saskatchewan
Gender: Male
Contributed by Jean Longstaff