Private William Brooke
Died as a Prisoner of War in WW1
Date of Death:
Service Biography
Private William Brooke, the 23 year old son of eldest son of the late C. J. Brooke, K.C., and Mary Rose (Cameron) Brooke, grandson of Huntingdon’s Dr. Alexander Cameron, and great grand nephew of His Excellency the late Sir James Brooke, K.C.B., 1st Rajah of Sarawak, was assigned to work in a German munitions factory after being taken prisoner on 22 April 1915 during the battle of 2nd Ypres where the Germans used chlorine gas for the first time.
He refused to help produce munitions that would be used against his fellow Canadians, was tried by a German tribunal and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in a German Military prison in Cologne. In a letter home to his mother, he wrote how good the prison conditions were, ending with "Mother, you know I am no George Washington", indicating that, unlike George Washington, he could indeed lie and the conditions were really quite poor. Unfortunately, the German censor had been educated in the United States. Billy Brooke was sentenced to 9 days solitary confinement, and on March 13, 1917 he died of pneumonia.
Contemporary accounts started that he died alone and freezing in an unheated cell although the official record received from the German’s state that he was being treated in the prison hospital.
Mount Brooke, on the Alaska/Yukon border is named for Private Brooke.
General Information
Conflict:
WW1
Regimental No.:
8186
Cause of Death (in war):
Died as a Prisoner of War
Branch:
Army
Regiment:
Canadian Infantry
Battalion:
2nd Battalion
Company:
Date of Birth :
Place of Birth:
Huntingdon, Quebec
Date of Enlistment:
Age at Enlistment:
21 years 1 month
Date of Discharge:
Age at Discharge:
23 years 6 months
Date of Death:
Age at Death:
23 years 6 months
Country Born:
Canada
Trade or Calling:
Student
Next of Kin:
Mary Rose Brooke (nee Cameron), of 266, Maclaren St., Ottawa, Ontario
Address at Enlistment:
Ottawa, Ontario
Religion:
Presbyterian
Place of Enlistment:
Valcartier, Quebec
Was a Prisoner of War:
Yes
Height:
5 ft 8.0 in / 173 cm
Weight:
Chest:
35.0 in / 89 cm
Expansion:
3.5 in / 9 cm
Marital Status:
Single
Prior Military Experience:
Yes
Saw Service in:
Europe
Place of Discharge:
Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
Discharge Type:
Died in Service
Discharge Notes:
Died as a POW
Battle Died/Wounded:
Second Ypres
Length of Service:
902 days in service
Buried at:
Plot:
X. II. 3.
Links
Images
Billy Brooke
Headstone of Billy Brooke
Photo of Pte. William Brooke
The Story of Mount Brooke
Ranks
| Conflict |
Rank |
Regiment |
Branch |
Unit |
Company |
Date From |
Date To |
| WW1 |
Private |
Canadian Infantry |
Army |
2nd Battalion |
|
|
|
Available Transcriptions
Prisoner of War Information
| Conflict |
Camp |
Location |
Country |
Interned |
Released |
Notes |
| WW1 |
Giessen Pow Camp |
Hesse |
Germany |
|
|
Reported missing on 22 April 1915 during the battle of 2nd Ypres. Later received notice that he had been taken prisoner and was interned in Giessen. |
| WW1 |
Celle POW Camp (Scheuen) |
Lower Saxony |
Germany |
|
|
Removed to Camp Bokela, Celle (Reserve Lazarett I) |
| WW1 |
Wahn Camp |
Cologne region |
Germany |
|
|
Transferred to Wahn enlisted camp after Court Martial for treason for participating in a mutiney. He refused to work in a German munitions plant believeing that it contravened the rules of war (Geneva Conventions) |
| WW1 |
Fortress Hospital, Cologne |
Cologne |
Germany |
|
|
Died of pneumonia in Fortress Hospital, Cologne according to the German records. Contemporary accounts have him dying in his cell. |
Notes
Private William "Billy" Brooke, eldest son of the late Charles James Brooke, K.C., and of Mary Rose Brooke (nee Cameron), of 266, Maclaren St., Ottawa. Grandson of the late Dr. A Cameron, of Huntingdon PQ. Great grand nephew of His Excellency the late Sir James Brooke, K.C.B., 1st Rajah of Sarawak. Private William Brooke, second battalion, C. E. F., eldest son of the late C. J. Brooke, K.C., and Mrs. Brooke, 251 Metcalf Street, Ottawa Ont., and , died of pneumonia, while a prisoner of war in Cologne Germany, aged 23 years
Private Brooke was taken prisoner ay Ypres on 24 April 1915. He was sent to a Prisoner of War camp, likely Giessen . Other than officers, Prisoners of War were routinely forced to work in industrial jobs, paid at the same wage rate that German soldiers would be paid to do the job. In the spring of 1916 there was an uprising in the POW rank, possibly having to do with the making of munitions (which was contrary to the Hague Convention). Several men, Private Brooke included, were tried by a German military court, convicted and sent to the Cologne military prison. Once there, he sent a letter home to his mother, saying how good the prison conditions were, but ending with "Mother, you know I am not George Washington" indicating that, unlike George Washington, he could indeed lie and the conditions were really quite poor. The letter was presumably written to get past the German censors; unfortunatly the censor had been educated in the United States. For this offence, Billy Brooke was sentenced to 9 days solitary confinement. On 13 March, 1917 Private Billy Brooke, alone and freezing in an unheated cell, died of pneumonia. In total, 28 Canadian Officers, and 255 men of other ranks, such as Billy Brooke, died in German POW camps or prisons. Mount Brooke, on the Alaska/Yukon border is named for Private Brooke.
Additional Service Notes
Charged as one of the Camp Bokelah Muntineers while POW in Germany.
Reported missing [1915-04-22]
Previously missing, now reported POW at Giessen [1915-07-28]
Removed to Camp Bokela, Celle, Hannover [1916-05-29]
Sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for mutiny while POW [1916-10-19]
Transferred to Wahn [1916-12-18]
Reported to have died whilst POW at Fortress Hospital Col’n, of pneumonia [1917-03-13]
Research Notes
Officially charged with military disturbance:
CM record is available in the service file
