839249 Pte. William Arthur Bott was born in Derby Township, Grey County, Ontario, where his family owned a farm. William attested to the 147th Battalion on November 27th, 1916, and was assigned to "B" Company.
Billeted locally over the winter, the 147th Battalion mobilized in Owen Sound in the spring of 1916 and left for training at Camp Niagara. As the conditions in the Camp were wanting the unit moved to the new training facility of Camp Borden in late June.
In September 1916 the unit received their orders to proceed overseas, but due to an outbreak of diphtheria they were detained in Amherst, Nova Scotia, for over a month. The unit finally sailed for Great Britain on November 14th, 1916, on the S.S. Olympic.
On January 1st, 1917, the 147th Battalion ceased to exist when it became the nucleus for the 8th Reserve Battalion, whose task it was to supply reinforcements to the 58th Battalion and the 4th C.M.R.
On May 12th, 1917, William was taken on strength of the 4th C.M.R., and was subsequently wounded on September 16th, 1918. On this day there was heavy shelling of the 4th CMR's positions in the Support Line near the French villages of Recourt and Ecourt-Saint-Quentin, which saw 2 men killed, 12 wounded and 5 gassed.
Private William Arthur Bott was struck off strength of the 4th C.M.R. on January 24th, 1919. His service is remembered on the Derby Township's Honour Roll, located in the Town of Kilsyth.
Biography details credit: George Auer
Additional regiment location detail courtesy of 4cmr.com, from the Regiment War Diary Summary for 1918