William Andrew Torrance was born in London on 31st December 1872, the second son of Cumnock born Sir Andrew Mitchell Torrance and Flora Weir Drummond.
He married Janette Douglas MacPhail in London in 1898 and had 2 sons, but it seems, from newspaper reports, that he had a drink problem and went off to Canada arriving in 1905. In 1909 Janette's parents sued the state of Sir Andrew Mitchell Torrance for maintenance. In 1911 Janette and the children are living with her parents.
He enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corps at Valcartier in Sep 1914. He was 5 ft 8in and had blue eyes and red hair. Occupation was clerk. He gave his date of birth as 31 Dec 1873 but it must have been 1872 as he was baptised in Camberwell, London on 23rd February 1873. He was 41 when he enlisted and said he was unmarried and gave his mother Flora as his next of kin.
He died on 14 Apr 1916 in Belgium.
Service Record
CWGC
Cumnock Connections tree
Remembering WW1 soldiers with a connection to Cumnock in Ayrshire, Scotland, including those who survived and others not mentioned on the War Memorial. Researched by Cumnock History Group.
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