Abbott Island is named in memory of Gunner Walter John (Walt) Abbott. The island was dedicated on April 7, 1960 by the Government of Saskatchewan.
Walter John Abbott was born in February 1920 in Richlea, south-west of Rosetown, Saskatchewan. He was employed as a farmer when he enlisted at Rosetown in 1941, and assigned to 8th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery. He was stationed near London, England when he received a skull fracture as a result of a truck collision. Walt Abbott died on June 11, 1944 and is buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery near London.
