Cleaver, Frederick William

Frederick William Cleaver was born in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, England, on 23 March 1885. He was the son of Alfred Cleaver, a brick maker, and Elizabeth Cleaver. The eldest of five children, by 1901 the 16-year-old Frederick was contributing to the family income by working as a hay binder.

Cleaver immigrated to Canada in 1906, at the age of 21. By 1914, he was working as a waiter in Fort William, Ontario. He enlisted in the 94th Canadian Infantry Battalion in Fort William on 18 November 1915.

The 94th Battalion sailed to England from Halifax, Nova Scotia, aboard SS Olympic on 28 June 1916 and arrived in Liverpool on 6 July 1916. The unit then proceeded to Dibgate Camp, Folkestone, Kent. There, on 18 July 1916, its personnel was absorbed by two battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, the 17th Reserve Battalion and the 32nd Canadian Infantry Battalion (Manitoba), to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field. Cleaver was assigned to the 32nd Battalion. After completing his training at Camp Bramshott, a Canadian military facility in Hampshire, he was transferred to the 28th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Northwest) for service in the field. He joined the unit in France on 14 April 1917, two days after the end of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

Cleaver was killed in action on 7 May 1917 near Acheville, France, while serving with the 28th Battalion. His body was not recovered.

Frederick William Cleaver is commemorated on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, on Vimy Ridge, in France.