Private
Wray, Walter Herbert
Unit
13th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada)
Branch
Infantry
Service Component
Canadian Expeditionary Force
Service Number
46012
birth
1879/02/23
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
death
1916/06/03
Belgium
grave
Railway Dugouts Burial Ground (Transport Farm), Belgium
Gender
Male
Walter Herbert Wray was born in Toronto, Ontario, on 23 February 1879. He was the son of Samuel and Sarah Wray. His father was a shoemaker.
In 1901, Wray married Minnie Smith in York, Ontario. A plumber, he enlisted in the 17th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders) at Valcartier Camp, Quebec, on 28 September 1914. He was later transferred to the 13th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada). Wray had five years of military experience in militia units. He sailed to England with his battalion on 3 October 1914 aboard SS Ruthenia, as part of the First Contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. After training on Salisbury Plain for four months, the Contingent was shipped to France in February 1915.
Wray was killed in action in Belgium on the night of 2–3 June 1916, during the Battle of Mount Sorrel. On the evening of 2 June, his battalion had been ordered forward from the rear to support the 14th Battalion. Roads used by the battalion were heavily shelled by the Germans, resulting in over 50 casualties by the time the men got into position.
Walter Herbert Wray is buried in Railway Dugouts Burial Ground (Transport Farm), in Belgium.
