Alternate name(s):
Villa
Bill
Juan
Date of birth:
Tuesday, 17 September 1907
Marital status:
single
Ethnicity/Nationality:
Canadian
Profession:
sailor; lumberjack; photographer
Hometown(s):
Winnipeg, Manitoba; Regina, Saskatchewan; Australia
Education:
High school education
Political affiliation:
Communist Party of Canada, 1928; Industrial Workers of the World
Involvement in On-to-Ottawa Trek:
Participated in the On-to-Ottawa Trek.
Prior military experience:
Six months in the Australian Militia
Approximate date arrived in Spain:
1936-07-18 with Basque militia; 1937-05-14 with IB
Unit:
Basque Militia Unit; George Washington Battalion; Abraham Lincoln Battalion; Mackenzie Papineau Battalion, Company 4 (Machine Gun Company), Section 3, Number 2 gunner
Final status:
WIA several times on Basque front and again at Fuentes; Survived; Returned to England December 1938; Volunteered with Free French in World War II but saw no action; Some confusion over his fate: he was mistakenly reported dead in the Winnipeg papers; involved with the Mac Pap Veterans Association; Died in 1991
Sources:
Figueres List; RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 575, ll. 101; RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 512, ll. 87; RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 543; NAC, M-P Collection, Dent, V. 5, F. 24, Subject Files, Williamson, E. W. (Bill): Correspondence, autographs of IB members acquired in Spain, IB certificate of honorable discharge, 1937, 1980-83; Momryk; Petrou; Ancestry; Bill Williamson, Imperial War Museum Tapes 012385R14-R18
