Deseronto Archives

On this day in 1916, William James Watson signed up in Toronto. He was born in Deseronto on June 21st, 1893, the son of Ernest Arthur Watson and Annie (née Shane). He was working as a chauffeur when he enlisted.

Watson joined the 124th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force with the regimental number 770157. He was five feet nine inches tall, with a fair complexion, blue eyes and fair hair. His service record shows that a medical board diagnosed him with chronic double otitis media on April 26th, 1916. He had been suffering from the ear infections for five years and was hard of hearing as a result. Watson was discharged from the army on May 5th, 1916 as medically unfit for further service.

William married Isabella Charlton in Toronto on January 17th, 1917, at which time he was a munitions worker.