Walter George Ponceby

Record notes

• Birth date is uncertain. The 1916 attestation paper reads "May 9th, 187_" (last digit unclear); apparent age 44 at attestation (April 1916) suggests birth ~1872-1873. The 1901 Boston marriage register records groom age as 33, implying birth ~1868. Recorded here as ~1873 pending review; the attestation paper is the primary document.
• Birth place confirmed as London, England by both the 1901 Boston marriage register and the 1916 attestation paper.
• Occupation consistently recorded as Electrician in both the 1901 marriage register and the 1916 attestation paper.
• Married Margaret Mac Kennon on 9 January 1901 in Boston, Massachusetts.
• By 1916 Walter and Margaret were living at 8203-109 St., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada — the same city where their son Donald Edwin married Catherine Mackie Horne on 17 April 1924.
• Enlisted in the 202nd Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force on 17 April 1916 in Edmonton, service number 231409. Physical description: 5'6", fair, hazel eyes, light brown hair, Presbyterian.
• Walter's father was Edwin Pownceby, confirmed by the 1901 Boston marriage register naming "Edwin Pownceby" as the groom's father. Edwin's birth is documented in the GRO index (source-birth-index-edwin-pownceby-1840).
• The 202nd Battalion was absorbed into the 9th Reserve Battalion on 27 May 1917 after arriving in England. Walter was subsequently posted as a reinforcement to the 10th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Alberta Regiment) — his confirmed unit at the time of death per the Canadian Virtual War Memorial (CVWM record 1595335).
• Died 11 November 1917, aged 45, during or immediately after the Battle of Passchendaele (Third Battle of Ypres). No known grave. Commemorated at the Menin Gate (Ypres) Memorial, Ypres, Belgium, Panels 24–28–30, and on Page 310 of the First World War Book of Remembrance. Source: source-canadian-virtual-war-memorial-walter-george-ponceby.
• At the time of his death, Margaret's recorded address was 19 Arlington Apartments, Edmonton, Alberta — changed from 8203-109 St. at the time of attestation (April 1916).
• Margaret Mac Kennon's father was Donald Mac Kennon and mother was Elizabeth Jardine — both documented in the archive through PEI records, establishing the McKinnon/PEI line.