49 Spruce Street

Able Seaman William “Bill” Joseph Albert Beacock

William “Bill” Beacock was born in Paris in 1924. He and his wife Jean (Bethune) and two children lived at 49 Spruce Street. Prior to the Second World War, Bill worked at Canadian Machinery Corporation (CMC) in Galt as a fitter. He enlisted with the Royal Canadian Navy in Hamilton and was placed on Divisional Strength in June, 1943. Shortly after enlistment, Bill had been sent to the University of Alberta to train as an Electrical Artificer, a skilled technician, typically in a naval or armed forces context, who specializes in the installation, maintenance, and repair of a ship’s or unit’s electrical and electronic systems. After he completed that course, Bill served on convoy duty aboard HMCS Kentville, as well serving as a minesweeper and emergency rescue ship. That was the ship’s role in January, 1945 when a convoy the Kentville was escorting in the Atlantic Ocean came under attack with the loss of two ships.

Bill was honourably discharged on October 11, 1945 with the rank of Engine Room Artificer (ERA), 4th Class, a rank that in British and Canadian navies is associated with a specific non-commissioned rank and level of experience such as a Chief Petty Officer. For his service, Bill received the Atlantic Star, Canadian Volunteers Service Medal with Clasp and the War Medal 1939-1945.

When Bill returned home, he became maintenance manager for Timber Jack in Woodstock. He chaired the Paris Recreational Committee and was a founder of Minor Lacrosse in Paris during the 1960s. He died at the Brantford General Hospital in March, 2009 in his 86th year and is buried in the Sacred Heart Cemetery in Paris.