Private Edward Williams

Birth: December 25, 1898 in Steveston, BC
Death: April 14, 1917 in Wimereux, France
Service: WWI
Regimental Number: 760945

Biography:
Edward Williams enlisted in New Westminster on January 24, 1916, aged 17 years and 1 month, giving his occupation as a fisherman. He was 5ft 8 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes, and stated that his religion was Roman Catholic. He listed his mother Mrs. Ada Edwards, of Steveston, as his next of kin.

On enlistment Edward Williams joined the 121st Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and embarked for England on the Empress of Britain, arriving August 24, 1916. He was transferred to the 7th Battalion on arrival in France on November 29, 1916. Edward was wounded on April 14, 1917, suffering multiple injuries including a broken leg. He was taken to the stationary field hospital at Wimereux, France where he died of his wounds. He bequeathed his personal estate to his mother Ada Edwards who also received the memorial cross, plaque and scroll.

History of the Road Name (Williams Road):

• Williams Road is either named after James Thomas Williams OR Private Edward Williams (no relation to each other)
• James Thomas Williams came to Richmond in 1910 and was a gardener and nursery man at No. 3 Road and Williams Road, Lulu Island. He was born October 22, 1865 in Amersham, Buckingham, England and died, aged 71, September 22, 1937 in Richmond, BC. He married Hannah Clara Atkinson in 1903 at Grand Forks, BC. Hannah Clara continued to live on the property until her death in 1941. They had no children
• The establishment & naming of Williams Road pre-dates the end of WWI. The first mention of Williams Road in the Council Minutes index is October 1917 and Private Edward Williams died April 1917. There is a small possibility the road is named after Edward; more likely it is named after James Thomas. All the other WWI fallen servicemen with roads named after them were named in either 1954 or in the 1990s 
• More research needed