MacMillan, Wilbert Perry

Service highlights

  • Service number: A11088
  • Hometown: Stratford
  • Born: September 4, 1915
  • Enlisted: September 20 1939
  • Unit: The Perth Regiment of Canada (Second World War).
  • Died: 7 Nov 1960 
  • Duties noted in our unit service notes (project spreadsheet):
    • Cook, Officers’ Mess (Feb 1940)
    • Headquarters Company postings (from Mar 1940)
    • Batman (officer’s orderly), HQ Company (Apr 13, 1943)
    • Driver training and classification entries (June 1943 onward)
  • Embarked for Italy with the regiment
    • The regiment embarked at Liverpool on October 26, 1943 aboard the troopship John Ericsson.
    • Wilbert is listed on the regiment’s SS John Ericsson manifest as A11088, Pte, MacMillan W P.
    • The regiment landed in Italy on November 8, 1943 as part of 11th Infantry Brigade, 5th Canadian Armoured Division.

A Life and Service Remembered

Wilbert Perry MacMillan was a Stratford man, born on September 4, 1915, and laid to rest back home in Avondale Cemetery. He was part of the generation that watched the world shift, then stepped forward to do the unglamorous, essential work that keeps a unit moving.

The notes we have for Wilbert’s service sketch a man who supported others, day after day. He is recorded early on as working as a cook, then serving in Headquarters Company, then taking on duties like batman and driver. Those are not roles that show up in dramatic headlines, but they are the roles that kept officers briefed, vehicles moving, supplies arriving, and troops fed. In a battalion, that kind of reliability becomes a quiet form of leadership.

In late 1943, Wilbert went overseas with the Perths on the John Ericsson, arriving in Italy as the regiment entered active operations. Even when the record is just a line on a manifest, you can still feel the weight of that moment. Leaving home. Crossing the Atlantic. Joining a campaign where the days were long, the weather brutal, and the work never really stopped.

After the war, Wilbert returned to civilian life, and his story continued in the community that raised him. He died on November 7, 1960, at the age of 45. His medals have been donated to the St. Marys legion so that her will be remembered. We remember him not only for where he served, but for the steady, practical service that made it possible for others to fight.

Major battles and operations

What we can say with confidence is that Wilbert was listed with the Perth Regiment movement to Italy in late 1943, and the regiment’s official operational timeline places it in Italy from November 1943, then into North-West Europe in March 1945.

Without Wilbert’s full service file, we cannot confirm exactly which actions he personally took part in. What we can do is document the regiment’s recognized battle honours during the period he was overseas.

Perth Regiment Second World War battle honours (Italy and North-West Europe):

  • Liri Valley
  • Melfa Crossing
  • Ceprano
  • Gothic Line
  • Montecchio
  • Point 204
  • Coriano
  • Lamone Crossing
  • Fosso Munio
  • Conventello Comacchio
  • Italy, 1944–1945
  • IJsselmeer
  • Delfzijl Pocket
  • Northwest Europe

These honours reflect where the regiment fought and endured. For many soldiers, especially those in HQ and support roles, “in the fight” often meant keeping the battalion functional under pressure: routes, vehicles, rations, messages, and the constant movement that made operations possible.

Learn More
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  • Perth Regiment official lineage (Government of Canada)
    https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/official-military-history-lineages/lineages/infantry-regiments/perth-regiment.html
  • Perth Regiment SS John Ericsson manifest page
    https://www.perthregiment.ca/copy-of-perthonian
  • Perth Regiment regimental history page mentioning embarkation on John Ericsson
    https://www.perthregiment.ca/copy-2-of-remembrance
  • Veterans Affairs Canada page showing Perth Regiment battle honours (Garden of Remembrance and Perth Regiment Memorial)
    https://veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/canada/garden-remembrance-and-perth-regiment-memorial
  • Wilbert Perry MacMillan memorial listing (birth, death, burial)
    https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/199536900/wilbert-perry-macmillan
  • Library and Archives Canada, WWII service files overview (how to request records for non-war-dead)
    https://www.canada.ca/en/library-archives/collection/research-help/military-history/second-world-war/personnel-records-second-world-war.html
  • Library and Archives Canada ATIP request portal (to request Wilbert’s service file)
    https://www.canada.ca/en/library-archives/services/public/access-information-privacy/make-atip-request.html