John Presswood

John was a 20-year-old wool spinner from Glen Williams when he enlisted in the Great War on September 15, 1915. John had arrived in Canada in 1913 along with his parents John and Annie Shaw and his siblings Alice (21), Annie (19), Edith (18), Harry (13), Albert (7), Ivy (6) and Susanne (3). His two eldest sisters Emily (24) and Janet (22) had remained behind in England.

John’s medical examination noted “slightly defective eyesight”. He was 5’4 ½” tall with blue eyes and brown hair.

Private John Presswood was killed on October 1, 1916 in the trenches north of Courcelette, less than three months after arriving at the front. He was just 21 years old. John’s final resting place is unknown and as such he is memorialized on the Vimy Memorial, on the Georgetown Cenotaph at Remembrance Park, as well as on a plaque formerly at St. John’s United Church Glen Williams now at St. John’s United Church Georgetown.

Truly a Canadian Hero. His story lives on.

*Information taken from Canadiangreatwarproject.ca and Ancestry.ca

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