Date of birth: 12/07/1897

Place of birth: Trenton, Ontario, Canada

Last known residence: 109 Bond Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Profession: Teamster

Religion: Methodist

Country: Canada

Force: Canadian Expeditionary Force

Rank: Private

Service number: 172422

Enlistment date: 24/01/1916

Enlistment place: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Units:  —  Canadian Infantry, 2nd Bn. (Eastern Ontario)  (Last known unit)

Date of death: 06/11/1917

Place of death: Goudberg, Passchendaele, Belgium

Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.)

Age: 20

On the chilly morning of 6 November 1917 the Canadians launched their attack on Passchendaele. To give the German machine guns no firing chance, the troops follow the rolling barrage closely. Before the Germans are well and truly recovered, their positions are already surrounded. Everyone knows his task. Closely assisted by light machine guns and mortars, the infantry does the job. The 2nd Battalion (Eastern Ontario Regiment) advances along the Bellevue spur. The motto is "fire and movement". Keep moving. Keep firing.

After almost two hours the job is done and the battalion digs in to the north of Passchendaele. The attack went smoother than the ones before, but the losses are still heavy.

The 2nd counts 267 dead, wounded and missing. John Collins, 30, and William Morrison, 10 years his junior, are killed near the final objective. The two are buried in a common grave near Valour Farm.
But their grave was lost later on. They're now remembered on the Ypres Menin Gate Memorial.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1594782

Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=9b220af9-8d6a-4584-9d9e-065a0a99abe0