William Joseph Carney

William was born in Lancashire, England on November 19, 1895, the son of William and Sarah Carney. He was brother to Catherine, Mary, Sarah and Daniel.

During the First World War, William fought with the 6th Battalion of the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry British Expeditionary Force and immigrated to the States after the war, at twenty-five years of age. William came to Georgetown from Philadelphia, having lived there for eight years and six months prior.

William married Elizabeth Hall on June 22 1923, in Toronto and the couple came to Georgetown in 1929. The 1931 Canadian Census places the family in a rented house od Rosetta St. in Georgetown and William working as a cutter in a papermill. At some point William is believed to have lived at 11 Church St. Georgetown.

In 1940, at the outbreak of WW2, William enlisted (at the age of 46), with the 1st Battalion, Lorne Scots and when his regiment went overseas in 1941, he was taken on the A&T staff at Georgetown Armouries, which position he held at his death.

Williams body was discovered on November 17, 1945 on the CNR tracks west of the train station by the brakeman of a passing train. It was surmised that he had been killed by a freight train passing sometime earlier. It was determined that his death would have been instantaneous from severe head injuries and the loss of his left arm and leg. An inquest ruled his death to be accidental.

A full military funeral was held at Holy Cross Church in Georgetown (now Sacre Coeur) and a firing party of Lorne Scots gave a salute at his graveside in Greenwood Cemetery, Georgetown.

William was father to William Charles, Daniel, James Frederick and Philip. According to documentation in his military file, William was intending to build a home on Lot #1 Union Street in Georgetown, which he had purchased for $175. William is commemorated on the Cenotaph at Remembrance Park, Georgetown.

Truly a Canadian Hero. His story lives on. Information obtained from Ancestry.ca and Findagrave.com and Veteran.gc.ca

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