At 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918, Company Sergeant Major William Gladstone Wightman received his orders.
Wightman was to don full battle regalia, march to Mons and fall in. The war was over.
A decorated soldier in the First World War, Wightman took the Distinguished Conduct Medal back to his farm in Saskatchewan where, more than two years earlier on Jan. 4, 1916, he enlisted in the Canadian Infantry at age 26.
Buried beside his wife in the Pleasant Valley Cemetery, Wightman later moved to Vernon to be with his family. His grandson, now in his late-60s, recalls his grandfather’s stories of his time in the first regiment of the Canadian Mountain Rifles and his brother Tom who lost his life at Vimy Ridge.
Some of his items may have been left behind with only a few artifacts remaining, but fond memories of Wightman will always be remembered.
Related: Museum exhibition leads Remembrance Day
Related: First World War letters put a human face on the war that shaped us as a nation
@VernonNews
newstips@vernonmorningstar.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
