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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VIMY MEMORIAL Pas de Calais, France
Canada's most impressive tribute overseas to those Canadians who fought and gave their lives in the First World War is the majestic and inspiring Vimy Memorial, which overlooks the Douai Plain from the highest point of Vimy Ridge, about eight kilometres northeast of Arras on the N17 towards Lens. The Memorial is signposted from this road to the left, just before you enter the village of Vimy from the south. The memorial itself is someway inside the memorial park, but again it is well signposted. At the base of the memorial, these words appear in French and in English:
Inscribed on the ramparts of the Vimy Memorial are the names of over 11,000 Canadian soldiers who were posted as 'missing, presumed dead' in France.
A plaque at the entrance to the memorial states that the land for the battlefield park, 91.18 hectares in extent, was 'the free gift in perpetuity of the French nation to the people of Canada'. Construction of the massive work began in 1925, and 11 years later, on July 26, 1936, the monument was unveiled by King Edward VIII.
The park surrounding the Vimy Memorial was created by horticultural experts. Canadian trees and shrubs were planted in great masses to resemble the woods and forests of Canada. Wooded parklands surround the grassy slopes of the approaches around the Vimy Memorial. Trenches and tunnels have been restored and preserved and the visitor can picture the magnitude of the task that faced the Canadian Corps on that distant dawn when history was made.
On April 3, 2003, the Government of Canada designated April 9th of each year as a national day of remembrance of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
For more information, visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The Poppy Design is a trademark of The Royal Canadian Legion (Dominion Command) and is used with permission. Click here to learn more about the poppy.
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