Alternate name(s):
Ernest Edwards
William
Nickname:
Ernie
Date of birth:
Wednesday, 26 June 1901
Ethnicity/Nationality:
Canadian
Profession:
electrician
Hometown(s):
Montreal, Quebec; Vancouver, British Columbia
Education:
dubbed "intellectual" in report fl 536; professional training in England; university
Political affiliation:
Communist Party of Canada, 1935; Expelled from the Communist Party before arrival in Spain
Involvement in On-to-Ottawa Trek:
Participated in the On-to-Ottawa Trek.
Approximate date arrived in Spain:
1937-10-08
Unit:
45 Division; Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion;
Final status:
Considered a "disruptive element" and leader of a clique alongside John Heaney; Evacuated from Castillo de Fels prison; Often in jail; Listed MIA/POW March 193; Survived; Returned to Canada 23 February 1939 aboard the Duchess of York; Died 13 June 1968 in North Surrey, British Columbia
Disciplinary record in Spain:
Accused March 1938 of leaving the front; Arrested in December; Imprisoned at Castillo de Fels
Other:
See Gregory D. Page, "Ideology and the Canadians in the Spanish Civil War," University of New Brunswick, 1995, pg. 103-8, for more information about the group around Bigwood and Heaney
Sources:
Figueres List; RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Fond 543, ll.10-20 91a; Petrou; Ancestry; BC Archives
