Pte. William Edward OXBY
1891 - 1918 (27 years)-
Name William Edward OXBY Title Pte. Birth 07 Mar 1891 Dalton Twp., Victoria Co., Ontario Gender Male Burial Aug 1918 Wancourt British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France [1] Death 28 Aug 1918 Vis-en-Artois, France : K.I.A. - William was the fifth of fourteen children born to John George Oxby and Adelia Jane Kett. He was born and raised on his father's farm near the village of Sadowa in Dalton Twp., of Victoria County. William enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force on January 20, 1917. He was assigned to the 19th Battalion of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Division. William was killed in action on August 28, 1918, in the vicinity of Vis-En-Artois, during the third day of the Second Battle of Arras. The Second Battle of Arras was part of a general Allied offensive against German positions on the Western Front during the Hundred Days Offensive of World War I. The battle took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, between 26 August and 5 September. The 19th Battalion was part of the 2nd Division of the Canadian Corps that was given the task of forcing the Drocourt-Quéant Line that was fifteen miles to the east.
The 2nd Division advanced astride the Arras-Cambrai Road with the 19th Battalion on the south side of the road. They quickly captured the villages of Guemappe and Wancourt. Some progress was made on the 27th but on the 28th the 4th Brigade, which included the 19th Battalion, exhausted from two days of extremely heavy fighting, could muster only what amounted to a composite battalion from its four battalions-the reserve consisting mainly of headquarters details, batmen and cooks.
In spite of the determination of all ranks to take the so-called Fresnes-Rouvroy line, the obstacle of uncut wire covered by intense machine-gun fire proved too much for troops that were mentally and physically worn out not only from fighting but from a serious shortage of sleep during the preceding eight days. On this third day of fighting Pte. Oxby became one of the 5801 casualties of the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions. He was buried in the Wancourt British Cemetery in the town he had liberated the first day of the Battle.
William is also honored by being listed on the WWI Memorial in the Sebright United Church Cemetery, in Ramara Township, Simcoe Co., Ontario.
Person ID I531 James KETT's Family of Dalton Twp. Last Modified 6 Feb 2017
Father John George OXBY, b. 20 Feb 1858, Darlington Twp., Victoria Co., Ontario d. 18 Aug 1935, Orillia Soldier's Memorial Hosp., Orillia, Simcoe Co. (Age 77 years) Mother Adelia Jane KETT, b. 24 Mar 1863, Eden, Mariposa Twp., Victoria County, Ontario d. 15 Dec 1926, Dalton Twp., Victoria Co., Ontario (Age 63 years) Marriage 17 Nov 1886 Sadowa, Dalton Twp., Ontario Family ID F184 Group Sheet | Family Chart
- William was the fifth of fourteen children born to John George Oxby and Adelia Jane Kett. He was born and raised on his father's farm near the village of Sadowa in Dalton Twp., of Victoria County. William enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force on January 20, 1917. He was assigned to the 19th Battalion of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Division. William was killed in action on August 28, 1918, in the vicinity of Vis-En-Artois, during the third day of the Second Battle of Arras. The Second Battle of Arras was part of a general Allied offensive against German positions on the Western Front during the Hundred Days Offensive of World War I. The battle took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, between 26 August and 5 September. The 19th Battalion was part of the 2nd Division of the Canadian Corps that was given the task of forcing the Drocourt-Quéant Line that was fifteen miles to the east.
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Notes - Pte. Wiilliam Edward OXBY, K.I.A. William was born 7 Mar. 1892, near Sadowa, in Datlon Twp., a son of John George Oxby & Adelia Kett. He enlisted in the 177th Battalion in January 1917. Overseas we was transfered to the 19th Battalion, and was killed in action. 28 Aug. 1918, during an attack on Vis-en-Artois, in France. He is buried in the Wancourt British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. He is honoured on the Sebright War Memorial, in the Sebright United Church Cemetery.
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Sources - [S4] Find a Grave.
memorial # 565756621
- [S4] Find a Grave.