Person

William was the third of four children born to salt worker Robert Hamlet and his wife Mary Ellen Gee, and their only child born in County Durham. Martha and John Robert were born in Staffordshire, where their parents were married, and Charles in Cheshire. Their mother died in 1908 in Cheshire and father Robert the following year in Haverton Hill.

The 1911 census shows that William was then living with his brother John and his wife Elizabeth in Haverton Hill and was working as a grocer’s assistant. Two months later he was on board the SS Cedric sailing for a new life in Canada. Settling in Fort William, Ontario he was joined in 1913 by John Robert and his wife and his married sister Martha, her husband Charles William, and two children.

7 September 1915 saw William enlisting in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in Port Arthur, Ontario. He gave his next of kin as his sister Martha and previous military experience in the St John Ambulance was noted. His records show that he was originally given the regimental number 497312, but this was later corrected to 439712. He was posted to the 52nd Overseas Battalion, which embarked for England on 23 November 1915 under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Hay. On arrival William was transferred to the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and in March 1916 he was a Corporal in France as part of the water detail with the 2nd Pioneer Corps.

William’s service record is very sparse. He was on leave in the UK over Christmas 1916 and 1917. He was promoted to Sergeant in November 1918 after the Pioneers had been absorbed into 5th Battalion Canadian Engineers. In January 1919 he was awarded the Croix de Guerre followed by five days leave in Brussels, Belgium. April 1919 saw him in embarkation camp in England ready for return to Canada and demobilisation in Toronto on 19 May 1919.

Less than a year later William married American born stenographer Gladys Heald on 28 April 1920 in Fort William and they settled into married life, having their first daughter Dorothy the following year and then daughters Marjorie and Wilma. In 1922 a new railway line was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) as a result of competition amongst grain producers. The station of Hamlet, Alberta was named after William as an employee of the CPR.

Gladys and William remained living in Fort William with William working as a clerk until his retirement in the 1950s and Gladys as a school teacher.

William Hamlet died on 28 September 1965 after which Gladys moved to Port Arthur. She died in Thunder Bay, Ontario in 1992.

Civil Parish: Stockton on Tees

Birth date: 02-Aug-1886

Death date: 28-Sep-1965

Armed force/civilian: Army

Residence: Port Clarence (birthplace)
20 Young Street, Haverton Hill (1911 census)
207 Clease Street, Fort William, Ontario, Canada (service record)
327 North Harold Street, Fort William, Ontario, Canada (1921 Canadian census)
749 Tarbutt Street, Fort William, Ontario, Canada

Employment: Grocer’s assistant (1911 census)
Clerk, Canadian Pacific Railway (1920 marriage certificate)
Grain clerk (Voters list 1945)
Administrator (Voters list 1949)

Family: Parents: Robert Hamlet, Mary Ellen Hamlet nee Gee
Siblings: Martha Hamlet, John Robert Hamlet, Charles Hamlet
Spouse: Gladys Hamlet nee Heald
Children: Dorothy Hamlet, Marjorie Hamlet, Wilma Hamlet

Military service:

Sergeant
Canadian Army Medical Corps
2nd Pioneer Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force
5th Battalion, Canadian Engineers

Medal(s): Croix de Guerre with bronze star

Gender: Male

Contributed by Jayell, Durham