Source: August 1918 casualty.
Family Search: When Private John Wallis was born on 12 December 1889, in St Just in Penwith, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, his father, Philip Harvey Wallis, was 35 and his mother, Annie Williams Uren, was 20. He immigrated to United States in 1913 and lived in Flint, Genesee, Michigan, United States in 1917. He registered for military service in 1917. In 1917, at the age of 28, his occupation is listed as miner in Flint, Genesee, Michigan, United States. He died on 11 October 1918, in Iwuy, Nord, France, at the age of 28.
Soldier Biography
Pte John Wallis
John Wallis was born in Cornwall, England, in 1889. He served three years, 9 months in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry (DCLI). This regiment, formed in 1881, served in a number of outposts of the British Empire, including Malta, Gibraltar, South Africa, India, and Burma. Although we don’t know where Pte Wallis served when he was with the DCLI, we can assume that he was familiar with military life.
By 1917, he was living in Flint, Michigan and listed his occupation as a miner. In July of that year, he made his way to Windsor and enlisted in the Canadian army. Following summer training, Pte Wallis left Canada in December 1917 and his ship arrived on New Year’s Eve in Glasgow.
While doing further training in Bramshott, England, Pte Wallis contracted German Measles. He spent March 1918 in the hospital. His medical record notes that he was a “young man, well nourished and built”. He recovered from the measles and was sent to Etaples, France in August 1918. On September 7, he joined the 18th Battalion in the field.
More than a year after he enlisted, Pte Wallis was finally in France, fighting on the front lines. He was part of the contingent supporting other battalions during heavy fighting in the first weeks of October. Just five weeks after joining the 18th Battalion, he was killed in action on October 11. The 18th Battalion war diary of that day notes that 54 soldiers (non-officers) were wounded and 11 were killed.
Pte Wallis is buried in France.
By Jill Campbell
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 