369 www.on.legion.ca ONTARIO COMMAND WILLIS, Wilfred Edwin Wilfred was born in Fordwich, Ontario on April 6, 1897. When he was eighteen, he enlisted in Army (Regular Force) in Mount Forest on November 8, 1915, with the 153rd Battalion. Following training, he was shipped overseas on April 28, 1917, on the HMS Olympic from Halifax. He joined the 25th Reserve Battalion C.E.F. and served in England and suffered a number of maladies including tonsilitis that kept him from going to France sooner. He came home on demobilization in June 1919 on the Mauritania. He returned to the Fordwich area, married, and moved to Brussels. He had a family of seven and owned and ran a bakery. The family lived above the shop. He was known for his kindness and gave loaves of bread to those in need or on hard times. He was a Charter Member of The Royal Canadian Legion Brussels Branch 218 formed in October 1931, a dedicated member for over 30 years. Comrade Willis passed away on June 20, 1965, and rests at the Brussels Cemetery. WITTMANN, Mark Van Valkenburgh Mark was born in 1925, in Toronto, Ontario, the sixth and last child of Margaret and Francis Wittmann. He enlisted in the Army (Regular Force) in with the Royal Regiment of Canada, 2nd Division and rose to the rank of Corporal. Mark saw action in France and Germany and was discharged in 1946. After returning from the war, Mark took his CGA certification and became an accountant, first with Ditto of Canada, then Bell & Howell. He met his wife Marjorie Peet on a blind date to the Palace Pier and were later married at St. Monica’s Catholic Church. After the war, accommodation was difficult to find so they lived with his father on Briar Hill. With three little girls in tow, it was time to find a home of their own and moved to Etobicoke. A devoted Catholic and father to eight, Mark enjoyed playing the piano, tinkering with his Pontiac and nightly walks. Being the comedian, his humour warmed hearts and enlivened any social event. He died of lung cancer in 2004. WILSON, James Richardson James was born in Ogdensburg, NewYork, USA on April 25, 1915. He enlisted in the Army on August 17, 1943 and served with the Perth Regiment during World War II. He helped liberate Holland and his last mission was getting food to the Dutch. Sadly, he was killed in the last days of the war, on April 24, 1945.
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