Sandercock, Private William George

Service highlights

  • Born: 2 September 1897, St. Marys, Ontario
  • Service number: 690752
  • Enlisted: 10 April 1916, at Hamilton, originally with the 173rd (Highland) Battalion
  • Transferred: 12 August 1916, to the 110th (Perth) Battalion to serve alongside his father Samuel and his younger brother Cecil
  • Sailed overseas: 31 October 1916, from Halifax on the SS Caronia
  • Posted in France: 22 April 1917, to the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles, serving near Vimy Ridge with the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division
  • Killed in action: 23 August 1917
  • Commemorated: Vimy Memorial, France, and the cenotaph in St. Marys

A Life and Service Remembered

William was one of the Sandercock sons who answered the call early, leaving a steady life behind to join the CEF. By 1916 he was living in Hamilton and working as a machinist, a practical trade that spoke to patience and precision. Not long after enlisting, he made a choice that says a lot about the family’s character and closeness. He transferred to the 110th (Perth) Battalion, likely so he could serve in the same unit as his father Samuel and his younger brother Cecil.

That decision shaped everything that followed. In late October 1916, the three of them sailed together from Halifax on the SS Caronia. It is a striking image to hold, a father and two sons leaving home on the same ship, bound for the same war, carrying the same hopes of returning.

After arriving overseas, the path that had briefly kept them together began to split. The 110th was broken up for reinforcements, and William and Cecil were moved through the 8th Reserve Battalion to complete training. By 22 April 1917, both brothers were posted to the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles. They served in the Vimy area, in the hard routine of trench tours, wiring parties, patrols, and the constant strain of being under observation and threat even when the line seemed quiet.

William’s story ends in late August 1917 during the fighting around Hill 70. He was killed in action on 23 August 1917. His comrades buried him near the forward trenches, but the battlefield did not give him back. Post war clearance teams could not locate his grave, and he is remembered on the Vimy Memorial in France.

He left behind a family already deeply invested in the war, including Cecil, who was wounded the same day William was killed, and Samuel, who had set out with his sons but could not stay overseas. William is also remembered at home in St. Marys, where his name is etched into the cenotaph along with his brothers and the others who never returned.

Major battles and operations

  • Vimy Ridge sector service with the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles in 1917
  • Hill 70 and the Lens area operations, August 1917

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