LCpl. Ernest Percival Williams

Ernest Percival Williams was born at Saint Martins, a suburb of Christchurch in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island on 14 August 1883 (reg. 1883/12393). His parents were Frederick Walter Williams and Rosina Jane Williams (née Breitmeyer) who had married on 20 July 1863 (reg. 1863/5979). Ernest was their youngest child, and both had died by the time he enlisted to serve during World War I with the Canterbury Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion. Ernest was wounded in action in Belgium on 27 December 1917. He died of his wounds two days later at the No. 2 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station. 34-year-old Ernest was buried in the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery [ XXVII. CC. 12.]. Ernest was the author of A New Zealander's diary: Gallipoli and France, 1915-1917. Bio by Debbie McCauley (6 September 2024).

Sources

1. A New Zealander's diary : Gallipoli and France, 1915-1917 by Ernest Percival Williams (1st Canterbury Battalion).
2. Cenotaph: https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/...