Ref: WWI Attestation Paper — Walter George Ponceby, 202nd Battalion CEF, 1916
Record
WWI Attestation Paper — Walter George Ponceby, 202nd Battalion CEF, 1916
Library and Archives Canada WWI attestation paper for Walter George Ponceby, service number 231409, 202nd Battalion CEF. Attested 17 April 1916 in Edmonton, Alberta. Born in London, England, date approximately 9 May 1872; occupation Electrician; married; wife Margaret Ponceby at same Edmonton address. Physical description: 5'6", fair complexion, hazel eyes, light brown hair, Presbyterian. Declared fit for overseas service.
What this record says
Record summary
What it says
Library and Archives Canada WWI attestation paper for Walter George Ponceby, service number 231409, 202nd Battalion CEF. Attested 17 April 1916 in Edmonton, Alberta. Born in London, England, date approximately 9 May 1872; occupation Electrician; married; wife Margaret Ponceby at same Edmonton address. Physical description: 5'6", fair complexion, hazel eyes, light brown hair, Presbyterian. Declared fit for overseas service.
Why it matters
It supports 1 public timeline moment and connects to 1 named person or possibility.
Manual transcription from handwritten document; most fields clearly legible.
Birth year reads as "1872" and the LAC index also records 1872-05-09. Apparent age 44 in April 1916 is close but not exact for a 9 May 1872 birth date. This still conflicts with the 1901 Boston marriage register, which records groom age as 33 (implying ~1868). Age discrepancies in historical records are common; retain this as conflicting evidence rather than letting it automatically override the unresolved canonical birth date.
Visual review on 3 June 2026 reads the present and next-of-kin address as "8205-109 St."; the raw text transcription preserves an earlier "8203-109 St." reading and was not edited because raw artifacts are immutable.
Witness surname at Oath reads as "Herbert Penby" or similar — uncertain.
Commanding officer signature reads tentatively as "P.E. Bowen" — uncertain.
Source type: military attestation paper (manual transcription)
Original filename: BAC-LAC_pffww_580558.pdf
Repository: Library and Archives Canada (BAC-LAC)
Form: Attestation Paper, Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force
Copy type: Triplicate
Service number: 231409
Unit: 202nd O.BATTN.C.E.F. (202nd Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force)
Folio: 6
--- QUESTIONS TO BE PUT BEFORE ATTESTATION ---
1. Surname: Ponceby
1a. Christian names: Walter George
1b. Present address: 8203-109 St., Edmonton, Alta., Canada
2. Town/Township/Parish and Country of birth: London, England
3. Next of kin: Margaret Ponceby [wife]
4. Address of next of kin: 8203-109 St., Edmonton, Alta., Canada
4a. Relationship of next of kin: Wife [implied by context]
5. Date of birth: May 9th, 1872 [also indexed by LAC as 1872-05-09]
6. Trade or Calling: Electrician
7. Married: Yes
8. Vaccinated/re-vaccinated: Yes
9. Active Militia: No
10. Previous military service: No
11. Understands nature and terms of engagement: Yes
12. Willing to be attested: Yes
--- DECLARATION ---
Signature of Recruit: Walter G. Ponceby
Date: April 17th, 1916
Witness signature: J. G. Armour
--- OATH ---
Signature of Recruit: Walter G. Ponceby
Date: April 17th, 1916
Witness signature: Herbert Penby [uncertain reading of surname]
--- CERTIFICATE OF MAGISTRATE ---
Location: Edmonton
Date: [day unclear], April 1916
Signature of Justice: [illegible]
--- DESCRIPTION ON ENLISTMENT ---
Apparent age: 44 years
Height: 5 ft. 6 in.
Girth (expanded): 36 in.
Range of expansion: 2½ in.
Complexion: Fair
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Light Brown
Religion: Presbyterian [checked]
--- CERTIFICATE OF MEDICAL EXAMINATION ---
Date: 17-4-16
Place: Edmonton South
Medical Officer signature: [illegible]
Conclusion: "fit" for the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force
--- CERTIFICATE OF OFFICER COMMANDING UNIT ---
Name confirmed: Walter George Ponceby
Date: April 17th, 1916
Commanding Officer signature: P.E. Bowen [uncertain reading]
Transcription notes:
- This is a triplicate copy of the attestation paper.
- Birth date reads as "May 9th, 1872" and LAC indexes it as 1872-05-09. Apparent age 44 in
April 1916 is close but not exact for that birth date. This conflicts with the Boston 1901
marriage register, which records groom age as 33 (implying birth ~1868). Age discrepancies
in historical records are common; do not update the canonical person birth year until this
proposed source is reviewed.
- The witness surname at the Oath is partly obscured; reads as "Herbert Penby" or similar.
- "202nd O.BATTN.C.E.F." = 202nd Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, recruited in Alberta.
Image file location: 05_raw/pdfs/attestation-paper-walter-george-ponceby-1916.pdf (pages 1-2, citation stripped)
Place
Where this record belongs
place
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Details
Record details
form
Attestation Paper, Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force
copy type
Triplicate
service number
231409
unit
202nd Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (202nd O.BATTN.C.E.F.)
folio
6
pages
2
bac lac url
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca
Notes
Research notes
User accepted this source on 3 June 2026 after visual review against the rendered two-page attestation image, with the address corrected to 8205-109 St.
No citation block is present because the LAC download supplied a copyright/terms-of-use page rather than a structured repository citation page.
This is the first military record for Walter George Ponceby in the archive. His occupation as "Electrician" matches the 1901 Boston marriage register exactly.
His Edmonton address matches the city where his son Donald Edwin Ponceby married Catherine Mackie Horne on 17 April 1924 — confirming the family was in Edmonton by 1916.
His wife Margaret (née Mac Kennon) is already documented in the archive through the 1901 Boston marriage records. Both are at the same Edmonton address in 1916.
The 202nd Battalion CEF was recruited primarily in Alberta; many attestations dated April 1916 from Edmonton.
Person record created at 01_people/person-walter-george-ponceby-1873.md.
