33 www.on.legion.ca ONTARIO COMMAND ARCHIBALD, William William was born on July 1, 1895 in Marksville, present day Hilton Beach, a small village on St. Joseph Island in northern Ontario, to Wallace and Annie Archibald. Sometime after 1911, the family moved to Sault Ste. Marie and William eventually became a fireman. On January 17, 1916, at the age of twenty, he enlisted in the Army (Regular Force) with the 119th (Algoma) Overseas Battalion. While in training, he was inflicted with mumps but was over that when he was shipped overseas on August 8, 1916. While in England, he was transferred to the 73rd Canadian Infantry Battalion. On Easter Sunday, April 9, 1917, William was involved in the battle for Vimy Ridge. His “Circumstances of Death” report stated that he was killed in action, body not recovered. He was awarded the Memorial Star and his name is inscribed on the Vimy Memorial and the Hilton Beach cenotaph. ATYEO, Gene Mitchell Gene was born outside of Weyburn, Saskatchewan on January 12, 1922 and moved to Sarnia as a child. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force (Regular Force) on June 11, 1942 and had his first flight in Pendleton, Ontario in a Tiger Moth on his 21st birthday. He trained on Harvard, Anson, Oxford, Wellington, and Halifax aircraft and finally the Lancaster on July 1, 1944. On July 10, he commenced flying with 101 Squadron of the Royal Air Force. They were shot down on their thirteenth mission, August 13, 1944, Operation Brunswick. Two men made the ultimate sacrifice and six survived. Gene was a Prisoner of War from August 12, 1944 to May 26, 1945. He was discharged on September 5, 1945. He returned to Sarnia, married, and raised seven children. Gene passed away on September 15, 2007. ARMSTRONG, Willard Ferrier Willard was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on September 16, 1901. He enlisted in the Army (Regular Force) on October 23, 1939, and was deployed overseas to Bramshott Camp in England on January 29, 1940. He commanded various dental companies, No. 22 Coy and No. 29 Coy, Canadian Dental Corps, RCAMC 15th Gen Hospital and No. 1 Cd Gen Hospital. His service took him to the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. Willard married Lieutenant (N/S) Jessie Taplin, RCAMC in Nijmegen, the Netherlands in August 1945. He received the 19391945 Star N.E., Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-1945, and Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with clasp. After his discharge, on April 26, 1946, he started a private Dental Practice. He resided in Espanola, Ontario from 1948 until his passing on July 11, 1977. He was a 29-year member of The Royal Canadian Legion Espanola Branch 39.
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