William Mills Foster
William Mills Foster was a lieutenant for the Canadian military during World War Two. He was born on September 18th, 1912 in Ottawa, Ontario to his parents Norman G. and Leta M. Foster. He and his three siblings; Gerald, Enid and Mrs M.J. Montgomery lived with his parents at 230 Third Avenue in the Glebe.
As an adolescent, he studied at Glebe Collegiate Institute and reportedly enjoyed playing tennis and basketball in his spare time. He was also a self proclaimed “Frenchman” and reportedly enjoyed learning the language. After graduating from Glebe in 1929, William enlisted as a cadet in the Canadian Armed Forces and continued his studies at the Royal Military College of Canada. He studied military engineering, tactics and topography, civil engineering, artillery, mathematics, mechanics and much, much more while at the College. During his academic career, he lived with his fellow cadets in the Fort Osborne Barracks in Winnipeg, sheltered from the worst of the Great Depression that had struck the rest of the populace during the 1930s. Willam continued to live at Fort Osborne after graduating and worked there as an military officer pre-WW2, eventually achieving the rank of Lieutenant.
Before William embarked for Liverpool to fight for the Allied Forces in 1939, he got married to his wife, Anne Muriel Foster on October 27th, 1939 at the age of 26. Together they had two children named William and Susan. On his medical examination sheets prior to him being taken on strength, it was noted that he had blue eyes, medium toned skin and brown hair. He was 5”10, weighed 153 lbs and had 3 scars; one from an appendectomy, one on his right elbow and the last one on his left ankle. He also wore glasses, due to the fact he had 20/60 vision in both eyes and suffered from short sightedness. However, this did not impede his committed military career.
Upon William M. Foster’s enlistment in the Canadian Armed Forces, he was a student at just 17 years old. William enlisted as a cadet to enter the Royal Military College of Canada in 1929, after graduating from Glebe Collegiate Institute. Considering the time of enlistment, a full decade before the Second World War began, one might infer that William’s inspiration for enlisting was influenced by nationalism or an awareness of the rising forces in Europe. He enlisted into the 1st Canadian Field Battery, stationed in Kingston, Ontario. When Canada officially entered the Second World War in 1939, William had graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada with a Diploma of Graduation in 1934 and had already achieved the rank of Lieutenant. He was taken on strength to the Canadian Active Service Force, specifically to the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry (P.P.C.L.I) unit on September 1st, 1939 at the age of 26.
After a year of circling between different battalions and posts in Canada, William was soon transferred to Halifax in May, 1940. He was later taken on strength overseas to the Bordon military camp, in the UK. In November of 1940 he was transferred to the field with the rest of the P.P.C.L.I and later in December was struck on strength to the P.P.C.L.I 2nd Reconnaissance Squadron. In May of 1941, Foster was granted a month leave and he took the opportunity to return to Canada and spend time with his wife, Anne M. Foster. Throughout 1942-1943 he served in the Borden military camp in the UK, returning to his wife and growing family on several occasions.
In the fateful year of 1944, William received wonderful news while stationed with the Allied Army in Italy that his son was born in May and was named after himself. A week later, he was also identified for a promotion from Lieutenant to Captain as soon as the unit was transferred out of the field. Unfortunately, William never made it. On July 17th, 1944 he was struck on strength to the Loyal Edmonton Regiment in the fields of Italy. On August 28th he was wounded in action. William Mills Foster died later from wounds on October 18th, in Italy, thousands of kilometers away from his family and his home - at the age of only 32.
According to the colonel of Foster’s regiment, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment, Foster was taken on the strength of a tank-busting platoon shortly before his death. On August, 28tht of 1944, he and a group of men were deployed to search for tanks in Nazi occupied territory in Italy. When none were found, the platoon headed back to their camp, but came across a group of German soldiers and took them as prisoners. Soon after that, the platoon was spotted by a German observation post and they were fired on. In this attack, Seven soldiers were killed and many others were injured, including Lieutenant William M. Foster. William was taken to an unidentified military Ally hospital in the region, but tragically died less than 2 months later, on October 18th, 1944 from his injuries sustained in action. He was first buried in the second grave of the Canadian Infantry Brigade Cemetery in Cesena, Italy. Later on he was moved and reburied in the Cesena British Empire Cemetery, in the ninth grave of row E, in the third plot.
His sacrifice was noble and will be remembered.
Let’s bring his memories home together.
Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Star November 1944.
Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Star November 1944.
Grave marker – 2086 Lieutenant William Mills Foster (RMC 1929) served with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, R.C.I.C. He died on Oct 18, 1944. He was buried in the Cesena War Cemetery, Cesena, Forli, Italy : III, E, 9.
WILLIAM MILLS FOSTER – Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
Newspaper clipping – From the Ottawa Citizen. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
Plaque – Ex-cadets are named on the Memorial Arch at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario and in memorial stained glass windows to fallen comrades. 2086 Lieutenant William Mills Foster (RMC 1929) He served with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, R.C.I.C. He died on Oct 18, 1944. He was buried in the Cesena War Cemetery, Cesena, Forli, Italy : III, E, 9.
Works Cited
Find A Grave. “Normand Gerald Foster.” Find a Grave, Find a Grave, 9 March 2019, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/246165925/norman-gerald-foster/photo. Accessed 26 October 2023.
Government of Canada. “Canadian Virtual War Memorial.” William Mills Foster - The Canadian Virtual War Memorial - Veterans Affairs Canada, Government of Canada, 2022, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/1713414. Accessed 26 October 2023.
Government of Canada. “Foster, William Mills.” Research Collection, Government of Canada, 9 March 2019, https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?app=kia&IdNumber=42365. Accessed 26 October 2023.
Pepper, Barry. “Canadian Military Abbreviations.” WARTIMES.ca, 2023, https://wartimes.ca/research/abbreviations/. Accessed 26 October 2023.
Royal Military College of Canada, and Government of Canada. “Royal Military College of Canada.” Royal Military College of Canada, 23 October 2023, https://www.rmc-cmr.ca/en. Accessed 26 October 2023.
The biographies appearing on this website have been written by students, roughly the same age as the soldiers they are studying, using primary source evidence from Library and Archives Canada, in addition to primary source documents from The Virtual War Memorial on veterans.ca. We welcome any corrections or additions you may have to these biographies.
'If we do preserve it, we honour them, and when we in our turn pass on, we will know that behind us lives a generation of free men and of free women to be the keepers of this great heritage of ours - Canada.'
- Ian A. McPhee, former student at GCI, 1937.
Glebe Collegiate Institute
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
