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Hodder-Williams, Ralph Wilfred, enlisted in Montreal, originally of Bromley, Kent, England. Occupation: university professor. Military Service: Lieutenant, Captain, M.C., Reg. No. McGill 211, 2nd University Company, PPCLI, Attestation Papers. Diary Reference: “Lts. Newbrook [Tenbroeke], [Rider L.] Haggard and [R.W. Hodder] Williams wounded,” 3:17 Sep ’16.
Additional Biographical Information:
Lt. Ralph W. Hodder-Williams was a professor at the University of Toronto who enlisted at Montreal 17 June 1915 with the 2nd University Company and served with the P.P.C.L.I. in France and Belgium in 1915/16. He was wounded on 15 September 1916 at the Battle of Courcelette and struck off strength on 20 September 1916. He wrote Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, 1914-1919, in two volumes, published by Hodder and Stoughton Ltd. in 1923 (reviewed by H.W.A. Foster in Canadian Historical Review, 5, no. 1 (March 1924), 77). The Appendices in Volume II have been invaluable in the identification of soldiers mentioned in Frank Whiting’s diary.
For more information concerning R. W. Hodder-Williams’ background and connections see Wikipedia Hodder and Stoughton, which is a brief history of the Christian publishing company, which his grandfather Matthew Hodder and Thomas Stoughton founded in 1868. Additional information on his family can be found in the obituary of his nephew, Paul Hodder-Williams.
There is one reference to Lt. Hodder-Williams in the PPCLI War Diary, 18 Jun ’16 “Parades under Lieuts. Smith & Williams and Guards Instructors for Musketry.” At that time, Hodder-Williams was known simply as Williams.