Name: William Frederick Curran Rank: Signalman Service Number: F/5218 Service: 2nd Canadian Corps of Signals, Royal Canadian Corps of Signals Date of Birth: March 6, 1918 Place of Birth: Woodside, Imperoyal, Halifax Co., NS Date of Enlistment: May 1, 1942 Place of Enlistment: Yarmouth, NS Age at Enlistment: 24 Address at Enlistment: Woodside, Halifax Co., NS Trade: Electrician’s helper Marital Status: Single Religion: Roman Catholic Next of Kin: Esther Curran, Mother Height: 5 feet, 7 inches Complexion: Medium Eyes: Brown Hair: Dark Brown Date of Death: June 6, 1944 Age at Death: 26 Cemetery: Brookwood Cemetery, Surrey, England Grave: Plot 49, Row H, Grave 2 Commemorated on page 284 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on June 18 William Frederick Curran was the son of Frederick David (1878-1937) and Sharewood Esther (Allison) Curran (1883-1954), of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He had two brothers, Gerald Francis and John Duncan, and three sisters – Margaret Mary, Muriel Kathleen, and Gertrude May. William initially enlisted with the Militia April 9, 1942 at Canadian Army Basic Training Camp (CABTC) No. 60 (Camp 60) in Yarmouth, NS, before enlisting for Active Service less than a month later, May 1, 1942. His sister, Gertrude May Curran, also served, with the Canadian Women’s Army Corps (in Ottawa at the time of William’s enlistment). From June 11 to August 20, 1942, he was at CSTC Kingston in Ontario for Signals training. He departed Canada August 21, 1942 arriving in England September 1, 1942. Signalman Curran was killed in a road accident at Sandwich Road, in the Whitfield area of Dover in Kent, England, while on duty. His motorcycle collided with a Canadian motor truck driven by an army trooper. He died at the scene of the accident on the morning of June 6, 1944. He sent the following picture of himself from England to his family in Canada, with the following handwritten on the back, “That's little me. What do you think of it? Me, not much."

Sources: Canadian Virtual War Memorial Commonwealth War Graves Commission