South Similkameen Branch 192
SOLDIERS OF THE SOUTH SIMILKAMEEN
William Henry Atherton
Service No. 443468
Born: October 3, 1863, Fredericton, NB
Died: February 7, 1942, Vancouver, BC
Son of William Treadwell & Elizabeth Janet (Chestnut) Atherton
Pvt - 54th Battalion
2nd Battalion
Resting Place:
Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, BC
William Atherton was born in New Brunswick but moved west before 1891. In that year he is listed on the Canadian Census as a Railway Conductor. In 1894 he married Hattie Stockman in Montana and by 1900 is working as a Railway Switcher and he and Hattie have a daughter, Beatrice.
William enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 54th Battalion in October of 1915. He lists himself as a Railway Conductor and Widower. His daughter Beatrice, now married to John Treece, is listed as next of kin and living in Victor, Montana.next of kin is his daughter Mrs. John A Treece of Victor, Montana.
William was in poor health almost throughout his service with the CEF. He trained in Canada from September to November 1915 in Canada. Then sailed for England where his training continued from December to May 1916. He fought in France June to September 1916 and was stationed in the Military Hospital Commission - Canada in England from September 1916 to January 1917. William returned to Canada in February 1917 but stayed in hospital until December of 1917 when he was discharged with a pension for “Disability due to service - Bronchitis - July 1916 - at the trenches of Ypres. Exposure to wet and cold, foul air in trenches from decomposing bodies”.
He died in Vancouver in 1942.
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