Howlett, William Frederick: Service no. 730431

Digitized Service Record

Source: Cambridge Facebook Group post by a family member.

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Summary of Service for Private William Frederick Holwett, reg. no. 730431

Date	Event	Remarks
October 24, 1897	Born	Born at Pickering, Ontario.
January 29, 1916	Enlisted	Enlisted with the 111th Battalion at Galt, Ontario. He was an 18-year-old shoemaker standing 5”5” tall. He no prior military experience and lived at 150 Cambridge Street in Galt. His next-of-kin was his mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Masterson, of the same address. He was single and indicated that he practiced the Methodist faith.
June 3, 1916	Particulars of Family of an Officer or Man Enlisted in C.E.F.	On this form he states he is not married nor a widower, has no children. His father is dead, and his mother is alive and remarried. He is not insured.
September 1916	Assigns Pay	Assigns pay of $15.00 per month to his mother.
September 25, 1916	Embarked	Sailed from Halifax to England aboard the SS Tuscania.
October 6, 1916	Arrives	Arrives England.
October 8, 1916	Transferred	Transferred to the 17th Reserve Battalion.
October 13, 1916	Transferred	Transferred to the 35th Battalion, West Sandling, Kent, England.
January 4, 1917	TOS	TOS with the 4th Reserve Battalion, West Sandling.
May 9, 1917	TOS	TOS with the 18th Battalion.
May 10, 1917	Arrives	Arrives at Canadian Base Depot, Etaples, France.
June 11, 1917	Address Updated	Next-of-kin address updated to Ferguson Block, West Main Street, Galt, Ontario for his mother.
June 12, 1917	Arrives	Arrives with the 18th Battalion in the field.
August 21, 1917	Wounded	Wounded by an enemy shell bursting in road. Many men of the 18th were killed and wounded by this shell. He suffered a GSW to his right thigh and leg.
August 23, 1917	Admitted	Admitted to No. 4 General Hospital, Camiers, France.
August 30, 1917	Transported	Transported from France to England aboard the AT St. David.
August 31, 1917	Admitted	Admitted to Berrington War Hospital, Shewsbury, England.
October 25, 1917	Discharged	Discharged Berrington War Hospital, Shewsbury, England.
October 26, 1917	Admitted	Admitted to Canadian Convalescent Hospital, Woodcote Park, Epsom.
April 3, 1918	Discharged	Discharged Woodcote Park, Epsom and put On Command at 2nd CCD.
May 31, 1918	Ceases	Ceases to be On Command and TOS 4th Reserve Battalion at Witley.
September 4, 1918	Proceeds Overseas	Proceeds overseas to the 18th Battalion.
September 5, 1918	Arrives CIBD	Arrives at the CIBD, Etaples, France and TOS 18th Battalion.
September 9, 1918	Arrives CCRC	Arrives at the Canadian Corps Reinforcement Camp.
September 11, 1918	Arrives 18th Battalion	Arrives in the field with the 18th Battalion.
April 4, 1919	Ceases	Ceases to be attached to 4th Reserve Battalion and TOS to the 18th Battalion and SOS to the PWCCC.
April 4, 1919	Proceeds to England	After serving with the 18th from September 11, 1918 to this date he would have served with the Battalion until the war ended and then participated in occupation duty in Germany with the Battalion.
April 5, 1919	SOS	SOS to WORD in preparation to return to Canada.
April 7, 1919	Medical Exam	Medical Exam for Discharge. He is the same height as at enlistment and weighs 130-pounds.
April 27, 1919	Admitted	Admitted to Canadian Special Hospital, Witley for VDG.
July 1, 1919	Medical Exam for Discharge
July 2, 1919	Dental Exam for Demobilization
July 27, 1919	Discharged	Discharged at MD No. 1 (London, Ontario). He has miraculously grown 3”. He plans to live at Ferguson Block, West Main Street, Galt, Ontario.
May 19, 1921	Updated Address	Address of Private Howlett updated to 475 Dupont Street, Toronto, Ontario.

Acronyms

AWL	Absent Without Leave: Generally, a soldier would be deducted 1-days pay for every day absent. In some cases, the soldier would be confined to barracks. Sometimes it was a combination of both.
A Classification	Medical Board Classification that determined your fitness for duty. A1, A2, A3 and A4 were assigned to different units with the expectation that these men would be able to serve with active combat units. See this link for more information.
B Classification	Medical Board Classification that determined your fitness for duty. B1, B2, and B3 were assigned to different service units such as railway and forestry corps. See this link for more information.
D Classification	See this link for more information.
CAMC	Canadian Army Medical Corp
CB	Confined to Barracks: a punishment for minor infractions.
CCD	Casualty Convalescent Depot: a depot at a base where men, in their final stages of convalescing, would be prepared for duty depending on their rating.
CCH	Casualty Clearing Hospital
CCRC	Canadian Corps Reserve Camp
CCS	Casualty Clearing Station: this facility was attached to rail transportation from the front to hospitals on the coast of France
CDC	Canadian Dispatch Camp
CFA	Canadian Field Ambulance/Canadian Field Artillery. Most common usage would be Canadian Field Ambulance.
DAH	Disorderly Action of the Heart
DRS	Divisional Rest Station
GSW	Gun Shot Wound – this was a generic term for all projectile penetrating wounds.
In the Field	This term relates to a soldier arriving at an active-duty unit after transporting from England, to France, and then to his duty assignment. The routing varied from soldier to soldier and could take 2-3 days to several months.
MD	Military District
PUO	Pyrexia of Unknown Origin: This was a term used for any illness that could not clearly be identified and typically was related to influenza symptoms.
SOS	Struck Off Strength
TOS	Taken On Strength
CAMC	Canadian Army Medical Corp
CCH	Casualty Clearing Hospital
CFA	Canadian Field Ambulance
DRS	Divisional Rest Station
GSW	Gun Shot Wound – this was a generic term for all projectile penetrating wounds.
MD	Military District
PUO	Pyrexia of Unknown Origin
SOS	Struck Off Strength
TOS	Taken On Strength
WORD	Western Ontario Regimental Depot