JENKINS, SGT. WM. ELDON Reg. # 657283
William Eldon Jenkins was born October 1, 1899 to Eldon Wellington Jenkins and Katherine Maude Willder.
WWI
At the time of the 1901 census, the family lived in Croft township. At the time of the 1911 census, the family was again listed as living in Croft Township on part of Lot 2, Concession 5.
An excerpt from William's attestation papers, WWI
At the time of the signing of his Attestation papers, William identified that he lived in Magnetawan, as did his parents. In his attestation papers, William Eldon identified that he was a farmer.
In his Discharge Certificate, it was indicated that William enlisted in 162nd Battalion in Parry Sound on December 31, 1915 and that he served with the 18th Battalion in England and France.
In his War Veterans Allowance Papers, it is indicated that William was in WWI from Dec. 31, 1915 to July 11, 1919; and WWII from Feb. 26, 1940 in Winnipeg to August 28, 1945.
At some point he was transferred to the WOR (Western Ontario Regiment). He was wounded October 18, 1918 while with the WOR.
In fact, as can be seen from the summary below, William was transferred to the 18th Battalion in late 1917 and remained with the 18th at the time he was ‘Wounded – Gassed’.
The battalion had been authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Great Britain on 18 April 1915. It disembarked in France on 15 September 1915, where it fought as part of the 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The battalion was disbanded on 15 September 1920.[3] (Wikipedia)
The 118th participated in what is called the Second Battle of Cambrai in September and October 1918.
The ‘Battle of Cambrai’ is described as a military engagement in northern France that took place during World War I from September 27 to October 11, 1918. It was part of a series of connected battles at the start of the “hundred days” campaign, which began with the Battle of Amiens in August and would lead to the defeat of Germany and the end of the war. The battle was among the Canadian Corps’ most impressive tactical victories of the war, particularly because of the Canadians’ skillful use of military engineers. (From Encyclopedia Britannica).
The Battle of Cambrai, 1918 (also know as the Second Battle of Cambrai) was a battle between troops of the British First, Third and Fourth Armier and German Empire forces during the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War. The battle took place in and around the French city of Cambrai, between 8 and10 October 1918. The battle incorported many of the newer tactics in 1918, in particular tanks. The attack gained considerable ground in less than 36 hours. It saw about 2,000 more British casualties than German which were light relative to earlier phases of the war. (Wikipedia)
