True and Fascinating Canadian History
Vet of the Month: April, 2022
Reg.#12795, Lieutenant William Archibald Willison. WWII. KIA
RCMP Vets. Ottawa, ON
This story is about former RCMP Constable William Archibald Willison, and his cruel and untimely death. Sadly, he was a victim in ‘Le Paradis Massacre’ which involved the mass killing of 97 allied troops by German soldiers during WWII. This war crime took place at a farmhouse in France, and according to Willison's obituary, he was among the first Allied Officer victims of WWII.
William Willison was born in Toronto in 1917 to a distinguished and affluent family. His grandfather, Sir John Willison, was once the editor of The Globe & Mail, and his father was also a well known Toronto newspaper advertising executive with the Canadian Press. William's uncle, after whom he was named, was killed in WWI. William undertook his schooling at Toronto's prestigious Upper Canada College and afterwards, he went on to further studies at Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, QC.
In 1935, William joined the RCMP and after Basic Recruit Training in Regina, he was posted to the Northwest Territories. After two years with the RCMP, Williiam decided to return to Toronto to pursue a career in the newspaper industry and follow in the footsteps of his father and his grandfather. He 'purchased' his discharge from the RCMP on June 19th, 1937. In the meantime, he met Miss Marion Wilks from Galt, ON and she too was from a very affluent family. After a six month courtship, the pair got married on February 18th, 1939 - on the eve of war.
William and Marion had family connections in England so the couple decided to travel to London for their honeymoon. William’s grandfather had once been a correspondent with The Times of London, and his father Walter A. Willison was a former war correspondent during WWI. In addition, Marion Wilks was familiar with London as she had undertaken her early schooling in the city. The newly wedded couple sailed aboard the Queen Mary and they arrived in Southampton on March 1, 1939. They found a flat in London. They wanted to start a family, and William intended to study English newspaper methods. After a spell, the couple intended to return to Canada.
World War II completely and unexpectedly changed the lives of William and Marion. William was among the first to enlist when war was declared on September 1st, 1939. He underwent Officer’s Training with the Scots Guards and later he was seconded to the Royal Norfolk Regiment. He was appointed a Second Lieutenant.
In the months that followed, William and his wife welcomed a baby girl. During the Blitz, their London flat suffered serious damage. The bombing campaign over London threathened their lives and the life of their baby, so Marion decided to return to Canada for safety. William remained in London while attached to the Royal Norfolk Regiment. He began immediately to contribute to the war effort, and he was credited with implementing the original plan to evacuate British children to Canada for the duration of the war. Shortly after Marion departed London for Canada, the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.) including the Royal Norfolk Regiment was ordered to depart England and to counter-attack German forces in France.
The story of the Le Paradis Massacre can be pieced together from the Royal Norfolk's website, from Le Paradis Commemorative website and from Wikipedia. William Willison's death was reported this way. “The Royal Norfolk Regiment was the first B.E.F. shipped overseas. They landed in Cherbourg, France on September 21, 1939 and moved inland. In May, 1940, the German invasion of France and Belgium began. Thousands of allied troops began to retreat with the hopes of reaching Dunkirk. The Royal Norfolk Regiment had been ordered to hold their position against German forces for as long as possible to give time for Allied Troops to evacuate from Dunkirk."
"Unexpectedly, the Royal Norfolk Regiment became isolated from their Battalion so they occupied a farmhouse in the village of Le Paradis. Here, they took up a position to slow the advance of the German Army. The Royal Norfolk Regiment suffered a high number of casualities, and the farmhouse in which they were housed, came under direct bomb attacks. In the conflict, William Willison was wounded in the arm. The farmhouse which had acted as a stronghold for the survivors of the Royal Norfolk Regiment had to be abandoned. At the same time, the roof of the farmhouse collapsed and caught on fire. Willison and his superior Officer Major Richardson were caught inside the collapsed building. According to witnesses, it was the last time that Major Richardson and Lieutenant Willison were seen alive. It was May 27, 1940."
"After running out of ammunition, and after raising a white flag, the few remaining soldiers of the Royal Norfolk Regiment surrendered to the German troops. Later, the Germans soldiers led the survivors, most of whom were injured, across the road to a wall where they were mowed down by machine gun fire. Ninety-seven British prisoners were killed. Although they too were injured, two soldiers of the Royal Norfolk Regiment survived the massacre. They hid in a pig-sty for three days until they were captured by German forces several days later. Years later, the two survivors were witnesses at the trial of the Commanding Officer of the German Company who ordered the massacre”. The Commanding Officer was subsequently executed in 1947 for this horrific crime.
The tragedy of the Le Paradis Massacre did not end at the farmhouse. The wretched circumstances of William’s death took a terrible toll upon his family. His wife, safely in Canada with their baby girl, refused to believe that her husband had been killed in action. It seems that she convinced herself that he had survived the evacuation of Dunkirk. An article dated March, 1941 in The Toronto Star reported that Marion decided to take flying lessons in the event that her services might be useful in the future and she would be ready to serve Canada. Marion told The Star, "The call may never come for Canada's women to fly, but the fact remains that it is my desire to do something if the opportunity presents itself." Of his missing husband, Marion said, "I believe he is still alive."
For a long time, Marion held out hope that her husband would come home to her, however, William Willison was officially declared dead in January, 1942. His body was never recovered. As the years passed, Marion’s anguish and grief grew. William’s loss was more than her heart could bear. She took her own life in 1952. She was 32.
Five members of William's family including his parents and his grand-parents are buried in the Willison plot in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto. Interestingly, William’s and Marion's names also appear on the Willison family granite stone marker although neither of them were buried in Mount Pleasant. William is remembered on the Dunkirk Memorial in France. Marion was interred in Hyde Park, NY.
in Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Toronto, ON
The Massacre at Le Paradise : Hell in Paradise. May, 1940. Website: leparadismassacre.com
Le Paradis Commemoration Group.
The Toronto Star. March, 1941.
Reporting from Fort Healy,
J. J. Healy
April 23, 2022
