John Vere Eardley Wilmot was born in London, England on March 18th, 1918. He lived at 55 Somerset West Ottawa, Ontario with his parents Vere L. Eardley-Wilmot and Mary C. Moffat. He potentially lived with his brother Hugh Eardley-Wilmot He attended Lisgar Collegiate Institute from 1934 to 1939. He was a devoted Protestant and follower of the Church of England. His hobby was skiing. He was 6ft 1, with a fair complexion, blue eyes, and light brown hair. John was training to become a broker. He had 6 months of training. When he was 15, he began serving as a corporal of Cameron Highlands of Ottawa for 3 years,from 1933 to 1936. In 1940, at the age of 22, he enlisted as a 2nd Lieutenant to fight in World War II.
As mentioned, John started his military career at 15. He served as a corporal in the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa for 3 years. He re-enlisted at 22 as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st Battalion Governor General’s Foot Guards. On November 11th, 1940 he was promoted to be 1st Lieutenant. His 1st Lieutenant status was enstated on July 17th, 1940. He was appointed to the Canadian Armored Corps on the 27th of January, 1942 In 1942, he went overseas to France. In 1943 on November 26th he was appointed captain of the Governor General’s Foot Guards. He was attached to the 21st Canadian Armoured Regiment and on the 22nd July of 1944, arrived in France where he was wounded. His total commissioned service was 3 years and 6 months. John served for a total of 7 years from 1933 to 1936 and then 1940-1944. He spent over a quarter of his life serving and protecting our country. John was awarded several medals throughout his military career including the 1939-45 Star, France & Germany Star, Defense Medal, War Medal, CVSM & Clasp.
He died on the 15th August 1944 at age 26 because of wounds he received in action, on the battlefield. John is buried in the Canadian war cemetery of Bretteville-sur -Laize, near Caen. He leaves behind his two parents and possibly a brother.
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.
Lisgar Collegiate Institute
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada