Sapper William Feeny

Survivor of WW2

Date of Death:

Biography General Links Ranks Awards Chronology Print

Service Biography

William Feeny was born in Huntingdon, Quebec, on 20 October 1908. He left school after Grade 4 and worked on the family farm, in seasonal farm and lumber work, construction and carpentry before enlisting in May 1941. Serving with the Royal Canadian Engineers as a carpenter, he spent more than three and a half years overseas in the United Kingdom, Italy and Northwest Europe. He returned to Canada in July 1945 and was discharged on 18 October 1945, planning to resume carpentry work with his brother.

William Feeny died 2 Sept 1971 at Queen Many Veterans Hospital. Montreal at age 63. He is uried in the National Field of Honour in Pointe Claire, Quebec

General Information

Conflict:

WW2

Regimental No.:

D16668

Cause of Death (in war):

Survived

Branch:

Army

Regiment:

Royal Canadian Engineers

Battalion:

1st Field Squadron

Company:

Date of Birth :

Place of Birth:

Huntingdon, Quebec

Date of Enlistment:

Age at Enlistment:

32 years 6 months

Date of Discharge:

Age at Discharge:

36 years 11 months

Date of Death:

Age at Death:

63 years 10 months

Country Born:

Canada

Trade or Calling:

Carpenter

Next of Kin:

Mary Newell, sister, Calumet Island, Quebec

Address at Enlistment:

Huntingdon, Quebec

Religion:

Roman Catholic

Place of Enlistment:

Montreal South, Quebec

Was a Prisoner of War:

Height:

5 ft 6.5 in / 169 cm

Weight:

137 lbs / 62 kg

Chest:

38.0 in / 97 cm

Expansion:

4.0 in / 10 cm

Marital Status:

Single

Prior Military Experience:

Saw Service in:

Europe

Place of Discharge:

Montreal South, Quebec

Discharge Type:

Regular/End of Service

Discharge Notes:

Battle Died/Wounded:

Length of Service:

1629 days in service

Buried at:

National Field of Honour, Pointe-Claire, Quebec

Links

Ancestry.com

Ranks

Conflict	Rank	Regiment	Branch	Unit
WW2	Sapper	Royal Canadian Engineers	Army	1st Field Squadron
Enlisted as Sapper; qualified Group B carpenter.
WW2	Lance Corporal	Royal Canadian Engineers	Army	11th Field Squadron
Appointed Acting L/Cpl then retained/promoted L/Cpl; rank on discharge L/Cpl.
WW2	Sapper	Royal Canadian Engineers	Army	11th Field Squadron
Group B carpenter; served in UK and Mediterranean/Italy.

Awards

Conflict	Award	Action	Date of Award	Date of Citation	Source
WW2	1939-1945 Star
WW2	Italy Star
WW2	France and Germany Star
WW2	Defence Medal
WW2	Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp

Service Chronology

1908-10-20 — Born in Huntingdon, Quebec. [Huntingdon, Quebec]
1941-05-03 — Enlisted at Montreal South, Quebec, for the Canadian Active Service Force as a Sapper, Royal Canadian Engineers. [Montreal South, Quebec / Royal Canadian Engineers]
1941-05-21 — Proceeded on command and was attached for training at Sherbrooke, Quebec. [Sherbrooke, Quebec / Canadian Army training centre]
1941-07-25 — Transferred to Royal Canadian Engineers training at Petawawa, Ontario. [Petawawa, Ontario / RCE Training Centre]
1941-08-01 — Qualified as Group B carpenter while training at Petawawa, Ontario. [Petawawa, Ontario / RCE Training Centre]
1941-08-06 to 1941-08-11 — Admitted to and discharged from hospital while at Petawawa, Ontario. [Petawawa, Ontario / RCE Training Centre]
1941-09-30 — Taken on strength of 1st Field Squadron, Royal Canadian Engineers. [Canada / 1st Field Squadron, RCE]
1941-10-05 to 1941-10-06 — Embarked from Canada and arrived in the United Kingdom for overseas service. [United Kingdom / 1st Field Squadron, RCE]
1942-06-04 to 1942-06-19 — Hospitalized for acute appendicitis and underwent appendectomy; returned to duty. [United Kingdom / Canadian General Hospital]
1942-09-04 — Transferred to 11th Field Squadron, Royal Canadian Engineers. [United Kingdom / 11th Field Squadron, RCE]
1943 — Continued engineer duties and Group B carpenter employment with 11th Field Squadron in the United Kingdom. [United Kingdom / 11th Field Squadron, RCE]
1944-05-23 — Erroneously reported wounded in action after Sapper M. Poitra was admitted to hospital wearing Feeny's tunic; Feeny was not wounded. [United Kingdom / 1st Field Squadron, RCE]
1944-06-04 to 1944-06-15 — Hospitalized for right epididymitis and returned to duty. [United Kingdom / No. 6 Canadian General Hospital]
1944-06-14 — Director of Records advised his sister Mary Newell that the wounded-in-action report was erroneous. [Calumet Island, Quebec / Director of Records correspondence]
1944-07-02 to 1944-07-03 — Moved from the United Kingdom to the Central Mediterranean Force for service in Italy. [Italy / 11th Field Squadron, RCE]
1944-12-27 — Appointed/retained Lance Corporal while serving with the Royal Canadian Engineers. [Italy / 11th Field Squadron, RCE]
1945-02-18 — Disembarked in France as the unit moved from Italy to Northwest Europe. [France / 11th Field Squadron, RCE]
1945-05-16 — Volunteered and signed a supplementary declaration for service in the Pacific Theatre. [Northwest Europe / 11th Field Squadron, RCE]
1945-07-06 to 1945-07-07 — Completed overseas service and returned to Canada after service in the United Kingdom, Italy and Northwest Europe. [Canada / Royal Canadian Engineers]
1945-10-16 — Medical board at Montreal South reviewed chronic cough/infected throat and colloid goitre before demobilization. [Montreal South, Quebec / Royal Canadian Engineers]
1945-10-18 — Discharged at Montreal South on demobilization and return to civil life as a Lance Corporal. [Montreal South, Quebec / Royal Canadian Engineers]
1945-11-16 — Army returned his executed will to him at Huntingdon after discharge. [Huntingdon, Quebec / Canadian Army Records]

Notes

William Feeny was born in Huntingdon, Quebec, on 20 October 1908. He completed Grade 4 at age 14, then worked at home and helped run his father's farm with an older brother. He later travelled for farm work, harvesting, lumbering and construction, returned to farming from 1934 to 1938, and then took up carpentry. Immediately before enlistment he had spent about two and a half months repairing houses for Lawrence Brown of Huntingdon. His wartime trade experience made him a qualified carpenter; at discharge he had arranged to work as a carpenter for his brother and hoped eventually to build a house of his own.

[Previous notes - manual reconciliation required]

Parents: The late Mr. and Mrs. William, Feeny, New Erin.
William Feeny BIRTH 21 OCT 1907 • Huntingdon, Monteregie Region, Quebec, Canada DEATH 2 SEP 1971 • Montreal, Montreal Region, Quebec, Canada
Son of Mary Murphy and William Feeny
Request confirmation number EA2026_0174260

Additional Service Notes

Served with the Royal Canadian Engineers, including 1st Field Squadron and 11th Field Squadron. He trained and worked as a Group B carpenter and served overseas in the United Kingdom, Italy and Northwest Europe. He volunteered for Pacific service in May 1945 but returned to Canada in July 1945 and was discharged on demobilization on 18 October 1945.

Additional Next of Kin Notes

Single at enlistment. Early pay-book records identify his brother George Feeny of Huntingdon, Quebec, as next of kin. Later records identify his sister Mrs. Mary Newell of Calumet Island, Quebec, as next of kin and assignee; she corresponded with the Army after receiving the erroneous May 1944 wounded notification. Pay-book material also records Mrs. George Feeny of Huntingdon, Quebec, as his mother.

Version: 5 Last modified: 2026-09-28 02:05:04 by: marc