Private William Joseph Gethons
745529
Born – Longford Mills, ON
Died Nov 14, 1918
Buried at Columbkille Cemetery, Uptergrove, ON
I must have driven past it a million times but it was only until recently when I noticed the accompanying cemetery. As part of this project of discovery, research and recognition I have been dragging my family around cemeteries across Ontario in search of the final resting places of the men of the 116th. Millions of decedents of Great War soldiers travel to France and Belgium on an annual basis to visit the battlefields and the countless cemeteries that contain the remains of the men who fell upon those fields. Fewer Canadians, however, make the same effort to visit and recognize the sacrifice of the men who made it back. Most of the soldiers who returned from France were able to live a long and fruitful life. However many fell victim to the wounds and illnesses received during their time of service. One such brave Canadian soldier died three days after the war ended.
It was on a recent drive from my family cottage ‘into town’ where I followed the well trod route, looked to my right and recalled seeing a series of monuments jutting out of the ground in the distance. The cemetery is situated to the side of a prominent Catholic church located in the hamlet of Uptergrove, Ontario…just south east of Orillia. Veering off onto the shoulder and ‘doing a U-ey’ to the groans on one daughter and the hurrah’s of the other, we ventured up the long drive to check for some gravestones brandishing the battalion name “116th“. It was within a few minutes of wandering through the tall grass where we found him. Situated in a most prominent place, closest to the entrance of the cathedral, lay his final remains. The soldier was the 26 year old, Private William Joseph Gethons.
It was on April 15th in the Spring of 1916 where the 24 yr old lad from Longford Mills decided to make the journey to Beaverton and enlist with the 116th. On the surface he was a healthy young man. Standing a tall 5 ft 10 ½ and weighing in at 150 lbs, he was a larger lad than most of his friends and fellow enlistees. It was soon after he joined up where he learned that his spirit would prove to be stronger than his body. In order to help raise the prominence and awareness of the battalion, the men of the 116th completed a march around and across Ontario County. When the battalion reached Beaverton, William would fall into line and complete the march in full gear down the dusty roads to Oshawa, then back up to Uxbridge. Approximately 1000 local men, clad in their khakis’ were divided up into four companies and stretched out to make the 106km long journey. By the time William arrived at Oshawa, he would report to the medical staff complaining of breathing problems. These continued and further expounded when the battalion reached Camp Niagara for training. It was here where the soldier was diagnosed to have tuberculosis and was sent to a sanitorium.
William would have been distraught both by his illness and by having to see the battalion he so wanted to be part of leave and make its’ way to England and France. While recuperating, one would certainly assume that he would be following the regular reports of how his battalion was faring over in France. The Orillia Packet provided in-depth and regular reports in its newspaper detailing the prominent achievements, notable injuries and tragic deaths of local lads. From his bed, as news of the great victories attained on the battlefield in the late summer and autumn of 1918 made it over Canada, the health of the soldier continued to deteriorate. And with each forceful drive made by the 116th and the CEF, the illness William so valiantly battled also began to claim its’ own victory. It was three days after the sounds of the guns drew to a silence, when the breaths he so laboured to make also became silenced. On the 14th of November in the year 1918 Private William Joseph Gethons died. Another casualty of the Great War and someone worthy of having a middle-aged man with two teenaged girls in tow do a u-ey along Highway 12 just south of Orillia and pay his overdue and well-deserved respect to the final remains of the former soldier.
Please make your own trip to visit Private William Gethons…and don’t forget his battalion mates who also rest in perpetuity in cemeteries all across this great country.
Lest we forget.