Steedsman, Trooper William John James

Service highlights

  • Service number: 225647
  • Born: 23 February 1894, Bright, Ontario
  • Worked as: Laborer
  • Local militia: Member of the 25th Brant Dragoons
  • Enlisted: 20 October 1915, Brantford, with the Canadian Mounted Rifles Depot
  • Overseas ship: SS Olympic, sailed from Halifax 2 April 1916, arrived Liverpool 12 April 1916
  • Posted in England: Canadian Cavalry Depot at Shorncliffe, assigned to Royal Canadian Dragoons Reinforcement Squadron
  • Returned to Canada: Fall 1916
  • Discharged: 20 July 1918 as medically unfit
  • Later care: Byron Sanatorium, London, Ontario, admitted 30 August 1918
  • Died: 5 November 1920, of phthisis (tuberculosis)
  • Burial: Ratho Presbyterian Cemetery
  • Remembered: Rannoch Cenotaph

A Life and Service Remembered

William John James Steedsman was born at Bright, Ontario on 23 February 1894. By the time he enlisted he was a labourer he already had a connection to military life as a member of the 25th Brant Dragoons. When Canada was sending so many young men overseas, William stepped forward early, enlisting at Brantford with the Canadian Mounted Rifles Depot on 20 October 1915.

He trained at Scott Barracks in Hamilton, then left Canada in the spring of 1916. On 2 April 1916 he sailed from Halifax aboard the SS Olympic, arriving at Liverpool on 12 April. In England, William was posted to the Canadian Cavalry Depot at Shorncliffe and assigned to the Royal Canadian Dragoons Reinforcement Squadron. It should have been the next step toward active service, but his war became defined by health struggles instead. Only days after arriving, he was admitted to Moore Barracks Hospital with measles on 20 April 1916. He was moved to the convalescent list on 26 May and rejoined his squadron on 27 June, trying to get back on his feet. Three days later he was readmitted to hospital, this time with bronchitis.

By late July 1916, the pattern was clear. On 22 July he was posted to the Canadian Casualty Assembly Centre, a holding list for those who required hospitalization, and he was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis. He was discharged back to his squadron on 1 August, but he returned to Canada that fall. It is one of the quiet tragedies of the war that some soldiers did not need shells or bullets to be brought down. Illness could be just as relentless, and its consequences could stretch far past the armistice.

Back in Canada, William was taken on strength at the District Depot at Wolseley Barracks in London, Ontario, where he received further medical treatment for nearly two years. While undergoing treatment his brother George was killed by German Machine gun fire. On 20 July 1918 he was discharged as medically unfit. A month later, on 30 August 1918, he was admitted to the Byron Sanatorium in London. He remained under care and ultimately died there on 5 November 1920 of phthisis, a form of tuberculosis.

William was buried in the Ratho Presbyterian Cemetery. He was survived by his parents, William and Minnie (Smith) Steedsman of R.R. 1, St. Marys, and a brother, David. The family carried more than one loss. William was predeceased by his brother George Frederick Steedsman, who died of wounds in France on 18 August 1917. The war took George overseas and then took him home only in name. For William, the war came home with him and stayed, turning the rest of his life into a long fight for breath and strength.

William is also commemorated on the cenotaph in Rannoch, a reminder that even when a soldier returns to Canada, the cost of war can still claim them years later.

Major battles and operations

  • Overseas crossing on the SS Olympic, April 1916
  • Service in England with the Royal Canadian Dragoons Reinforcement Squadron, interrupted by hospitalization in 1916
  • Returned to Canada due to illness, later discharged medically unfit and died of tuberculosis in 1920

Learn More

https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?idnumber=248868&app=pffww&ecopy=116336a
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=248868
https://canadiangreatwarproject.com/person.php?pid=68330
https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?op=pdf&app=CEF&id=B9252-S039
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/668886
https://doingourbit.ca/profile/william-steedsman
https://rcl236stmarys.ca/cenotaph/steedsman-private-george-frederick/
The Fallen, Richard Holt, Trooper W.J.J Steedsman, Pg 69