William George Coleman

Port Coquitlam Honour roll
Central School honour roll

William George Coleman  No.2 Section Skilled Railway Employee,
No.13 Light Railway Operating Company, C.E.F. 2125396
      William signed his attestation papers on the 21^st of March 1917 at New Westminster, he was working as a wiper and fireman for the CPR.
Born on the 3^rd of December 1899 Boissevain, Manitoba ( He wrote down 1897 originally but got caught ) home was in Coquitlam.
His parents were,  Robert John Coleman (1873-1940)  and  Margaret Cecilia Meakin (1879-1965) they lived at 2215 Central Avenue in Port Coquitlam, the home today is gone replaced by typical budget infill homes.  

At Vancouver in 1932 William married  Edna Cecilia Nelson (1907- 1961 )
No idea how many children came of this union.
Numerous brothers: Wilfred Harold Coleman (1897-1968)
  Herbert Lawrence Coleman ( 1898-1945) and
   Robert Alfred Coleman (1904-1983)
and a sister:   Lily May Coleman (1900 - 1992) married Ernest Cook, they divorced, then she married John Merrick, and she became, Lillian May Merrick
 
Service Record: Inside his records is this statement: “Not to be sent overseas until 19 years of age” after he was caught lying about his age.
Served in France with the railway building units as a telephone operator. 
He sent his hard earned money back home to his father in Port Coquitlam   William was in England from March to June of 1917, then over to France from June to March, then back to England from March to November of 1918, then back to Canada in December, and he was then discharged on the 7^th of February 1919 at Vancouver, B.C.
Primarily employed as a telephone operator,  and very sober according to one of the comments in his file.

William George Coleman died on the 27^th of August 1973 at home in Vancouver, he is buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Burnaby.