401290 Pte. John Wilson attested in London, Ontario, on August 2nd, 1915. He was part of the 33rd Battalion when he was drafted into the 4th CMR, (3 days after Pte. Maracle also featured on 4cmr.com), on December 29th, 1916. Wounded on May 14th, 1917, Pte. Wilson was Struck Off Strength on August 12th, 1918.

With rare time on their hands, soldiers frequently left signs of their presence in the form of inscriptions carved into cave walls, barns walls, farmhouse walls, trees and fences. Some are intricate affairs, with full regimental crests or caricatures, others are simple "I was here" inscriptions.

This clear inscription was found by Dominique Faivre, who has made a speciality of finding such inscriptions, and 4cmr.com is pleased to be able to this inscription, which Dominique found in Villers Au Bois, north of Arras, in France.

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Many thanks are extended to Dominique for supply of the image (one of two, please also see Pte. Abraham Maracle) who has given 4cmr.com permission to share them here. It is testimony to Dominique's skill that we have images at all, as the task of photographing these inscriptions is a challenging one. As tangible links to the men, these are indeed very special time capsules.