William Thomas Haddock was born and raised in Toronto, the son of Thomas and Mary Ann Haddock. He had two brothers and two sisters. He studied draughting at the Northern Vocational School and then worked for two years in his father’s construction business as a plaster’s apprentice.
William had served in the 2nd Battalion, Queen’s Own Rifles, a Militia infantry unit in Toronto, when he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Engineers on 12 January 1942. He completed his basic training in North Bay, Ontario and was sent to A5 Canadian Engineer Training Centre in Camp Petawawa in April 1942. He was qualified as Concreter’s Helper Group ‘C’ and assigned to the 2nd Field Company.
The 2nd Field Company were raised in Toronto and were among the first Canadian engineers sent to the UK Early in the war. There was a demand for army troops to build camps in the areas allocated to the Canadian Army in France. They were already up to strength and were sent to England quite early to meet this immediate requirement. They arrived in the Aldershot area on 22 May 1940 but the Dunkirk Evacuation cancelled plans to continue over to France. They were assigned a mobile reserve role in the defence of Britain In November 1941, and they took up a static defence role when the threat of invasion was at its highest. William joined them at the end of May in 1942. A few months later, they contributed troops to the ill-fated Dieppe Raid.
After Dieppe, the 2nd Field Company spent the better part of the next two years perfecting their bridging skills and practicing mine lifting and route clearance. Disembarking in France on 6 July 1944, they immediately started clearing the routes through Caen, bridging the Orne River and participating in the key battles to close the Falaise Gap. They worked on the approaches to the Seine and participated in operations to cross the river. An advanced reconnaissance party from the unit were among the first Canadian soldiers to re-enter Dieppe when it fell on 1 September 1944.
By 10 September, the company was in Ostend, Belgium putting the routes in and out of the port back into operation. By the end of September, they had worked their way as far as Antwerp and were preparing for operations to clear the Beveland Approaches.
On 25 October, the 2nd Field Company had been busy clearing mines, repairing road damage and getting ready for bridging tasks coming the next day. Just after lunch, the company moved forward to a new location. They were shelled and a number of medical personnel were killed or wounded Two sappers were also wounded, Spr Haddock was evacuated and later died of wounds. He is buried in the Canadian War Cemetery at Bergen-Op-Zoom in Holland.
Note: William’s brother served in the RCAF in Canada. Father served four years in the Canadian Engineers during the First World War.
Return to Part 5: Tributes to the Fallen Sappers of the Scheldt