Private
Lawledge, Walter Elliott
Unit
78th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Winnipeg Grenadiers)
Branch
Infantry
Service Component
Canadian Expeditionary Force
Service Number
871668
birth
1885/09/29
Birmingham, United Kingdom, England
death
1917/04/09
Vimy, France
grave
Canadian National Vimy Memorial, Vimy Ridge, France
Gender
Male
Walter Elliot Lawledge was born in Birmingham, England, on 29 September 1885. He was the third of Edward and Annie Lawledge’s five children. Lawledge immigrated to Canada in 1904 and settled in Saskatchewan.
A real estate agent, he enlisted in the 183rd Canadian Infantry Battalion (Manitoba Beavers) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on 3 April 1916. After initial training in Canada, he embarked for England with his unit on SS Missanabie. The ship left Halifax, Nova Scotia on 3 October 1916 and arrived in Liverpool 10 days later. While undergoing training for deployment to France, Lawledge was transferred to the 108th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Selkirk) and then to the 78th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Winnipeg Grenadiers), which he joined in France on 4 January 1917. He was reported missing in action after the first day of the Battle of Vimy Ridge (9 April 1917). On 4 February 1918, the report was changed to “killed in action” after the Canadian military authorities received information that indicated that Lawledge had been shot “through the head by an enemy sniper.” His body was never recovered.
Walter Elliot Lawledge is commemorated on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, on Vimy Ridge, in France.
