Walter George Ponceby

Record notes

• Birth date is uncertain. The accepted 1916 attestation paper reads "May 9th, 1872"; apparent age 44 at attestation (April 1916) supports the same general lane. The accepted 1901 Boston marriage register records groom age as 33, implying an earlier birth year, and the accepted FreeBMD birth-index candidate is June quarter 1867. Recorded here as approximate pending a GRO birth certificate or other stronger civil birth evidence.
• Birth place confirmed as London, England by both the 1901 Boston marriage register and the 1916 attestation paper.
• The accepted FreeBMD birth-index entry for Walter George Pownceby, Bethnal Green, June quarter 1867, is a strong candidate matching the 1901 Boston marriage-record age, but it remains certificate-gated and does not override the unresolved canonical birth date.
• Occupation consistently recorded as Electrician in both the 1901 marriage register and the 1916 attestation paper.
• Accepted 1902 Boston birth records for Donald Edwin Ponceby name Walter G Ponceby as Donald's father and record Walter's occupation as electrician / engineer electrician.
• Married Margaret Mac Kennon on 9 January 1901 in Boston, Massachusetts.
• By 1916 Walter and Margaret were living at 8205-109 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 accepted LAC service file records the 202nd Battalion route overseas and the 27 May 1917 move toward service with the 10th Battalion. 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 accepted Canadian Virtual War Memorial record (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. Sources: source-canadian-virtual-war-memorial-walter-george-ponceby, source-lac-wwi-service-file-walter-george-ponceby, and source-first-world-war-book-of-remembrance-page-310-for-walter-george-ponceby.
• At the time of his death, Margaret's recorded address was 19 Arlington Apartments, Edmonton, Alberta — changed from 8205-109 St. at the time of attestation (April 1916).
• Margaret Mac Kennon's father was Donald Mac Kennon and mother was Elizabeth Jardine — the parent names are documented by the accepted 1901 Boston marriage certificate.