LEST WE FORGET 157 HIGINBOTHAM, Earl Victor WWI Earl was born on December 29, 1899, in Thompson, Winnebago County, Iowa, to John Stanley and Ida Belle (Magee) Higinbotham. He had one sister, Alice Rachel (Armstrong). In 1909, Earl’s father was in charge of the Imperial Lumber Company in Rocanville. He was working as a labourer when he enlisted in Regina on May 29, 1918 with the 1st Sask Depot. He was only eighteen years old and small in stature (5’ 1 ½” tall and 115 pounds) and he had flat feet so couldn’t march. He left Montreal on July 29, 1918 aboard the Cassandra and arrived in Liverpool on August 13, 1918. On that voyage, the Cassandra turned out to be very infected with influenza and many of the recruits contracted the disease. Earl was posted in England to the Canadian Railway Construction Depot and with the Forestry Depot in Purfleet. His rank was changed from private to sapper with this transfer. In October 1918, he was hospitalized at Purfleet Military Hospital with influenza. He was shipped back to Canada on December 7, 1918 aboard the Olympic which arrived on December 14, 1918. He was granted a leave over Christmas from December 19, 1918 to January 3, 1919 and was entitled to wear one blue chevron. He was discharged in Regina on January 14, 1919. Sometime after 1928, he and his parents moved to the Midale/Macoun area where his married sister lived. His parents died in 1937 and Earl passed away on December 4, 1942 in Seattle, Washington. He is buried with his parents in the Macoun Cemetery in Saskatchewan. There is a famous painting by Arthur Lismer of the RMS Olympic in Halifax harbour on December 14, 1918 carrying 5 300 returning soldiers. It hangs in the Canadian War Museum. HILL, WilliamThomas WWI William Thomas Hill was born in Vars, Ontario on March 12, 1888. His father was John Hill. At the age of 27, he enlisted in Outlook on January 10, 1916. His occupation was farming. He listed his next of kin as John Hill. His mother had passed away. With his 128th Overseas Battalion comrades, he embarked for Europe on August 15, 1916. He proceeded to France on September 19, 1917. Serving with the 2nd Canadian Military Rifles, he suffered a gunshot wound to his left thigh on October 27, 1917. There were complications which resulted in displaced cartilage in the left knee joint. His service spanned three years and 42 days. He received a Good Conduct Badge. On May 31, 1919, Thomas Hill received his discharge papers and indicated his intention to live in Macrorie. The 1931 Census shows that he was 44 and living in Macrorie. Private William Thomas Hill died at the age of 79 on November 4, 1965, in the Dinsmore Hospital.
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