Our Local Heroes – Lost but not forgotten

Cadets from the Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps 2644, have taken the initiative to research the lives of a number of our local heroes

32754 Warrant Officer 1st Class William Denis Foran, DCM

Born: September 4, 1891 in Eardley (Gatineau Aylmer), Quebec  
Died 30 May 1969
Buried: St-Paul Cemetery, Gatineau Aylmer, Quebec
Age: 78
Registration number: 32754

He enlisted in Valcartier, Quebec, on September 24, 1914, in the 1st Canadian Field Ambulance.

WO Class 1 Foran served in World War I in the Canadian Army Medical Corps. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal, the Victory Medal and the Coronation Medal of 1937.

Here are some important dates:

• October 4, 1914: Sails to the United Kingdom on the SS Mégantic.
• February 10, 1915: He embarks on the SS Archimède and disembarks in France.
• April 26, 1916: Transferred to the 1st Canadian Railway Division
• November 26 1916: Promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer 1st Class (Regimental Sergeant-Major)
• June 14, 1917: he returned to Canada on the SS Justicia
• On April 13, 1918, he returned to France with the 1st Canadian Railway Division
• On June 18, 1919, he sails for 10 days aboard the H.M.T. Saturnia in Glasgow, from the UK to Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
• June 3, 1919: He received his Distinguished Conduct Medal (London Gazette 31370). The citation for his medal is "as a result of his bravery and dedication to duty during the Cambrai operations in September 1918, when Haynecourt was captured. A forward aid post was established there and the village was continuously bombarded. In order to relieve the congestion, he volunteered to guide the horse-drawn ambulance upwards (attached to the 1st Canadian Field Ambulance) ".
• On June 30, 1919, he took his release from the Canadian Armed Forces in Ottawa, Ontario, at his residence in Aylmer, Quebec.

He was a municipal councilor for the town of Aylmer, Quebec, from 1949 to 1953
He died on May 30, 1969 and is buried in St-Paul Cemetery in Aylmer (now Gatineau), Quebec.
His father was Patrick Joseph Foran and his mother Mary Eleanor Foran, his wife Stella M. Foran. All three buried in St-Paul cemetery in Gatineau, Aylmer in Quebec. He had 3 brothers, James Foran, who served in the 29th Battalion and received the Military Medal, John Patrick Foran and Michael T. Foran as well as 2 sisters Mary Theresa V. Dolan and Louisa M. Forget.

Thank you for your service !
Written by: Corporal Nicolas Roy of Corps de cadets 2644 - Régiment de Hull

Caporal Nicolas Roy, 13 ans