Citation(s);
Military service
Burial/memorial information
Baptized William Mckay Kinnear. Son of Kenward William Kinnear and Elizabeth Reith Mackay, of Montréal, Québec.
The above date of birth is what he stated when he enlisted, but according to the 1901 census in Scotland, it is possible he was born in 1898. He had immigrated to Québec with his family on July 15, 1911.
Enlisted in the 163rd Reserve Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force on May 26, 1916, he set sail from Halifax, Nova Scotia, bound for Bermuda, from where he departed on November 18, stopping in Halifax on the 26th. On the 27th, the troop transport set sail, arriving in Liverpool, England, on December 6, 1916. On January 7, 1917, he was temporarily assigned to the 10th Reserve Battalion before transferring that same day to the 150th Mount Royal Carabiniers Battalion. On May 17, he was transferred to the 22nd Battalion and crossed over to France on the 18th. On June 6, he went to the front lines at Zillebeke, Belgium. On August 15, 1917, in the trenches at Lens, near Cité St-Laurent, on Hill 70, in the Pas-de-Calais, he was killed in action during the capture of the Catapulte trench. His body was never recovered.
Digital gallery of Private William Kinnear
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Inscription
His name as it is inscribed on the Vimy Memorial. Over 11,000 fallen Canadians having no known place of burial in France, are honoured on this Memorial. May they never be forgotten. (J. Stephens) -
Vimy Memorial
Canada's Vimy Memorial, located approximately 8 kilometres to the north-east of Arras, France. May the sacrifice of so many never be forgotten. (J. Stephens) -
Newspaper clipping
From the Montreal Star c1917. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me.
Digital gallery of
Private William Kinnear
Digital gallery of
Private William Kinnear
Digital gallery of
Private William Kinnear
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 269 of the First World War Book of Remembrance.
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