November 5, 1914, Attested into the 21^st Battalion in Kingston, Ontario

Ø      Number 59907 (temporary number 350)

Ø      Next of kin given as Mary Ann Stares, with an address given as Idris Mineral water plant in Camden Town, London, England

Ø      Previous occupation given as Labourer

Ø      No previous military experience given

Ø      Religion given as Wesleyan

Ø      Assigned to “C” Company Scout Section

The battalion trained in the Kingston area through the winter of 1914-15

May 6, 1915, embarked the RMS Metagama in Montreal, Quebec

May 15, 1915, disembarked in Devonport, England and the battalion proceeded to the West Sandling Camp, near Hythe, Kent to continue training

September 14, 1915, embarked the St. Seiriol in Folkestone

Private William Stares was an artist and drew many sketches while serving
in France and Belgium; beginning with the one below dated September 18, 1915.
The battalion had reached Dranoutre, Belgium in preparation to enter the front line.

 On September 19, 1915 the 21^st Battalion moved into the front line “C” Trenches
for their first tour of duty at the front

Above is the observation post, while below is the section of trench
with the dugout where he was posted

Private Stares wrote a poem after the battalion was relieved and came out of the front line and moved into billets in the town of Dranoutre

A road somewhere in France

A street in the village of Dickebusch, near La Clytte

Below he sketched a ruined farmhouse in the area

In October 1915, the battalion was in site of the town of Ypres, Belgium

November 13, 1915 the battalion moved into Brigade Reserve and was billeted in the town of Ridgewood.  William Stares drew this view looking towards Ridgewood from Dickebusch.  In the centre of the drawing he points out a 21^st Battalion cemetery, which is now known as the Ridge Wood Cemetery.

That same cemetery today

November 27, 1915 found the battalion in the N and O front line trenches, within site of Hill 60 which saw heavy fighting prior to the battalion reaching the front

December 25, 1915 found the battalion in a rest area near Ridgewood

A poem written by William Stares regarding the possibility of being wounded and sent to Blighty (England)

March 28, 1916 found the battalion in the Ypres Salient, near the Ypres – Lille road, close to the Ypres - Comines Canal which forms part of the border between France and Belgium

He drew a sketch of an aid station on the Ypres - Lille road

On April 6, 1916 the battalion moved into the “B” Camp, near La Clytte, Belgium

North-west of La Clytte is the village of Reningelst where a sketch was made of a mill there

The mill above was used by several battalions for various purposes.  Below are Australian officials using it for a background of a film project

The town of Dickebusch is near La Clytte and Private Stares drew the sketch below of one of it’s churches

That same church today after it was rebuilt

Most likely on April 20, 1916, while in the village of Voormezeele, he made the sketch below

Good Friday, April 21, 1916, Private Stares wrote the following while in
the front lines near Voormezeele, Belgium

On Easter Sunday, April 23, 1916, he wrote the following

While in the Wulvergem area, south of Ypres, Belgium, he sketched
a church in ruins

That same church as it appears today after being rebuilt

May 4, 1916, back in the “B” Camp, he wrote of the daily routine

On May 9, he moved into the Scottish Wood area, south of Ypres and wrote the poem below

May 15, 1916, granted 9 days leave

While on leave in England, he met a young lady, who wrote good wishes in his book

May 23, 1916, granted a 1 day extension to his leave

May 27, 1916 the battalion moved into the Micmac Camp,
formerly called the “A” Camp

 Above in 1916, below is a photo of the same family farm taken in 2005
It is interesting to note that the same family has farmed the property continuously for over 150 years

On August 22, 1916, the battalion moved into the Quebec Camp for rest
and cleaning of equipment

September 6, 1916 the battalion moved into billets in the town of Fieffes

On the march towards the Somme on September 9, 1916, the battalion passed through the town of Albert.  The church in the middle of town had a statue of the Virgin Mary that had been almost toppled from the spire, and was leaning precariously.  The legend had it that if the statue fell to the ground, the hostilities would be over and the German’s will have won the war.  The British Engineers secured the statue with cables to ensure that it did not happen.  Private Stares drew his interpretation of the view.

That church spire as it looks today

Below is a view of what was called Sausage Valley.  It was on the approach to Courcelette where the battalion was preparing a major advance as part of the battle of the Somme

A view of the Somme River

Prior to the arrival of the 21^st Battalion on the Somme, British Engineers blew up a mine near the town of La Boisselle, east of Albert, France, as part of the opening action for the battle of the Somme, July 1, 1916.  This created a very large crater.

That crater is now called the Lochnagar Crater and is seen below as it looks today

A small church in the village of Beaucourt, north of Albert, France

September 15, 1916 found the battalion attacking a German strong point in a sugar refinery near Courcelette, on the Albert – Bapaume road.  The losses were extremely heavy.  This sketch shows his view of the carnage caused by the artillery shelling

A sketch of the last house standing in the town of Courcelette

September 19, 1916 the battalion was relieved from the front line and moved into billets in the town of La Vicogne

The dugout where he spent Christmas day, 1916 near Vimy Ridge, France

Another sketch done Christmas Day, 1916

In early January 1917 the battalion trained in the Bully Grenay area for an upcoming raid scheduled for January 17.  Just west of Bully Grenay is the village of Pernes.  Here a sketch was made of a church

February of 1917 the battalion was in the front line again.  This time near Neuville St Vaast, where he drew a sketch of an observation post

Another view of the front lines near Neuville St Vaast, showing the cemetery near the front line.

That same cemetery as it stands today, now called the Canadian Cemetery No. 2, Neuville-St. Vaast.

The battalion remained in the Neuville St Vaast area, alternating between spending time in the front line and training for the upcoming attack on Vimy Ridge.  While in the front line in March, another sketch was made showing the conditions in the line

May 14, 1917, after being wounded, he was invalided to England aboard the Hospital Ship St. Andrew

Posted to the EORD (Eastern Ontario Regimental Depot) while in hospital.

Following hospitalization in England, he returned to Canada and was discharged from the CEF

The 1921 Canadian Census shows him living in Norwood, Ontario and lists his occupation as a Painter

At this point, I lose track of him until his death

March 6, 1962, William James Stares died in Norwood, Ontario and is buried in the Norwood-Asphodel Cemetery, Norwood ON

Given the timing of him being invalided to England, it is quite possible that he was wounded during the fighting at Vimy Ridge.  In order to confirm this, a copy of his service file would need to be consulted.  This will be made available as a free download from Archives Canada in the coming months.

I would like to thank David Young for sharing the images of the sketches that William Stares drew while serving at the front.  Those images are protected by copyright and are not to be reproduced without his permission.  For more information, contact the webmaster.