DOWNING, PTE. WILLIAM JAMES
William James Edward Downing was born June 13, 1890 in Spence Township, son of William George Downing and Sarah Elizabeth Sugden.
William 'James' and his brother George went west. The picture was taken around 1912 in Calgary. (As previously noted, George Abraham Downing enlisted in Calgary.)
Like his brother, William James enlisted in Calgary. In his Attestation papers signed January 21, 1916 indicated that he lived in Calgary at the time, but his next of kin was his mother Sarah Downing of North Seguin. Like his brother, he identified that his occupation was that of carpenter.
Also like his brother, William joined the 31st Battalion.
William embarked in Halifax on August 21, 1916 on the OLYMPIC arriving in Liverpool on the 30th.
He was transferred from the 31st Reserve Battalion to the 31st Battalion in early February 1917.
On April 25, 1917 William James Downing died of a gunshot wound he received on April 20th.
After the Canadian victory of Vimy Ridge, the Germans did not launch a counter attack, but rather chose to adopt a scorched earth policy and retreated to the Oppy–Méricourt line.[124] The failure of the French Nivelle Offensive in the week after the Arras Offensive placed pressure on Field Marshal Douglas Haig to keep the Germans occupied in the Arras sector to minimize French losses.[124] The Canadian Corps participated in several of these actions including the Battle of Arleux and the Third Battle of the Scarpe in late April and early May 1917. (Wikipedia)
However, the lack of a counterattack did not mean the Canadians could rest easy. Sniper fire remained a constant threat. William James Downing was likely the victim of sniper fire – having survived the attack on Vimy Ridge.
C.E.F. Commonwealth War Graves Registers
