72 Grand River Street South

Lieutenant William John Earl Foot

William John Earl Foot was born in Galt (now Cambridge) in July 1915. He was the son of John Foot, who was a salesman for Brant Perma-Drive and was active in Paris municipal politics. Between 1949 and 1959 he served as Councillor for Queen’s Ward, Deputy Reeve and Reeve. William served in the Active Militia of the Highland Light Infantry in Galt in 1932. He married Marion Frew in Galt in October, 1933. They had a daughter Patricia “Patsy”, born in April, 1934 and a son son John, born in 1935.

William and Marion lived at 72 Grand River South and William was employed as an arc welder when he enlisted in September 1939 with Unit C, 54th Field Battery, Royal Canadian Artillery, which was based in Brantford. They were sent overseas shortly afterward. The first unit from the 54th Battery arrived in England before the end of 1939, the only local unit to land overseas as a separate entity. He returned to Canada in December 1942 for an officer training course. One year later he returned to England as a Lieutenant attached to 6th Anti-Tank Regiment. He served in Italy for a time.

William also participated in the D-Day invasion. William was wounded Aug. 8, 1944 by a mortar bomb and spent time in British hospitals and then served as a training officer until he sailed home on the Ile de France at the end of the war.

He returned home to his wife and children, but it is interesting to know what happened to them while William was fighting overseas. They had to move from Grand River South to a rental property on West River Street.  When the army paycheck came to Marion each month, a niece would go to Marion to get the rent money to take to the landlord. It is not clear if Marion was employed at the time, but there is the sense that the family’s lifestyle suffered during the war years.

Nevertheless, after William moved home, the family moved to 9 Churchill Street in the Victoria Survey. They had another son Terrence, born in 1946. William died in October, 1981 and is buried in the Paris Cemetery.