Private Russell Mackenzie Wilson

Russell Wilson was born in Paris on August 12, 1887. He attended St. Paul’s Methodist (now United) Church. He was employed as a dyer, probably with Penmans Company when he enlisted at 20 years of age with the Depot Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles, where he received his training before going overseas. We know little of Russell’s service during the First World War. However, we do know that he was killed in action on September 30, 1918, and that he died in No. 30 Casualty Clearing Station, and that he is buried in the Bucquoy Road Cemetery, about 9 kilometers south of Arras, France.

Canadian soldiers who died in September 1918 and are buried in Bucquoy Cemetery were likely part of the Canadian Corps (specifically the 1st or 2nd Divisions), fighting in intense battles around Arras and the Drocourt-Quéant Line, part of the massive Allied Hundred Days Offensive that broke German lines. Many Canadians fell in fierce fighting for strategic villages and positions near Bucquoy, France. The fighting in this area involved capturing German defenses like the Drocourt-Quéant Line, leading to intense close-quarters combat and heavy losses for infantry battalions. So, though we can only speculate about the circumstances of the death of Russell Wilson, we can know that he died in the final offensive that led to the end of the First World War.