Logo

Lane, William Selden "Joe"         

13-5-2   →   Column 13, Plot 5-2 (north)
b. 1884-Nov-16, Morden, MB
d. 1917-Jun-20, France

Grave markers: Vertical stone, cenotaph
Grave Cover: No
Grave Level? Yes

This is a Cenotaph.  He is not buried here.  He is buried in France.  See Find a Grave:56384799.

Empress Cemetery Tree on Ancestry.ca
     https://www.ancestry.ca/family-tree/person/tree/201433125/person/332718248495
Find a Grave
     https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/187193157
Empress Express, July 5, 1917
     https://archive.org/details/EPE_1917070501
The Canadian Virtual War Memorial (CVWM) - William Seldon Lane
     https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/59914

Available here 

 Lane, Newton & Joe 1917-07-05 Empress Express, Page 1.jpg
 Lane, William Selden (Joe), 1916-1917 Military Records.pdf
 Cemetery Register 1916-1917.jpg

Grave Photos 

 13-5-2 Lane, William, Cenotaph, (2025-04-07).jpg
 13-5-1&2 Lane, Newton, White cross & William, Cenotaph, (2025-04-07).jpg
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Father: Newton J. Lane (1853-1923), Find a Grave:276330961
Mother: Florence Eunicea "Flora" Selden (1854-?)

Summary
1884-Nov-16: William Selden “Joe” Lane was born to Newton J. Lane & Florence Eunicea Selden in Morden, Manitoba, Canada.
1891-Apr-05: Canada Census with parents & 2 siblings in Morden, South Dufferin, Manitoba, Canada.
1901-Jun-01: Canada Census with parents & 2 siblings in Morden, Manitoba, Canada.
1906-Jun-29: Canada Census with parents & younger sister at 149 Burrows Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
1907-Jun-07: Homestead Entry Application for NW-18-24-23-W2, next to Last Mountain Lake in Saskatchewan.  17.3 km west of Strasbourg, 79 km northwest of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
1911-Apr-21: Homestead Patent Grant for NW-18-24-23-W2.
1913-May-21: He helped his father homestead in Social Plains, Alberta at NW-2-20-2-W4, 24.6 km south-southeast of Bindloss, Alberta, Canada.

  Military: World War 1
     1916-Mar-03: Joe enlisted in the Canadian military in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada.  #696445, 175th Battalion Canadian Infantry.  Occupation: Barber.  He named his mother as his next-of-kin.  She was living in St. James, Manitoba.
     1916-Jul-08: He forfeited 2 days pay for being Absent Without Leave.
     1916-Oct-03: Joe sailed with his unit from Halifax, Nova Scotia on the SS Saxonia.
     1916-Oct-13: Arrived at Liverpool, England.
     1917-Jan-10: Transferred to Seaford Camp in Sussex, England, 21st Reserve Battalion (Alberta).
     1917-Mar-21: He was at Bramshott Camp, Bramshott, Hampsire, England when he was transferred to the 50th Battalion Canadian Infantry and sent to France.
     1917-Mar-22: Arrived at Le Havre, France.
     1917-Apr-19: Left to join unit in the field.
     1917-Apr-30: Joined his unit with the 50th Battalion Canadian Infantry in the field.
     1917-Jun-20: Joe died from wounds he received in action in France, in the #11 Canadian Field Ambulance.  He was 32 years old.

He is buried in plot VIII. D 7. in Villers Station Cemetery, Villers-au-Bois, Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France.  The cemetery is about 2 kilometres northwest of the village of Villers-au-Bois, 3 3/4 miles southwest of Aix-Noulette, France.  See Find a Grave:56384799.

Empress Express, July 5, 1917, Page 1
Mr. N. J. Lane, Social Plains, received word on Saturday, June 30, by telegram, that his son, "Joe" has been killed at the front.  The news of "Joe's" death will be received by the many who knew him, with sorrow; he was well known and very popular throughout this district.  The grief of his parents at the sad news, is shared by the many friends of their departed son.

Inscription of Empress Cemetery Cenotaph:
IN
LOVING MEMORY OF
WILLIAM S. LANE (JOE)
175th BATT. C.E.F.
SON OF
NEWTON & FLORENCE LANE
FELL IN FRANCE
JUNE 20, 1917
AGED 32 YEARS
------
NO MAN COULD DO MORE

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Bruce A. Johnson - Empress, Alberta, Canada.
Last Updated: 2026-Jan-06       Go to Empress Cemetery page