-In the early morning of 14 Oct 1942, the Newfoundland Railway passenger/rail ferry, S. S. 'Caribou', was sailing across the Cabot Strait when it was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat; it had departed from Sydney, Nova Scotia, on the evening of 13 Oct and was heading for Port-aux-Basques, Newfoundland. Aboard were 192 passengers (armed forces personnel, as well as civilians), a crew of 46, some livestock, rail cars and other cargo.

-The island of Newfoundland, a sea-faring country which was still a British colony at that time, was in a strategic location during the Second World War because it was so close to Canada. There were several military bases on the island where Canadian, British and American personnel were stationed; these servicemen often travelled on the ferries between Newfoundland and Canada.

-Of the 46 crew members of the S.S. 'Caribou', 31 died, including her captain and his two sons. Of the 118 Canadian, British and American armed services personnel, 57 died. And of the 74 civilians aboard the Caribou that early morning, 49 perished. 136 people in all were lost.

Aircraftman 2nd Class Wilson was one of the armed services personnel passengers, aboard the S.S. 'Caribou', who perished at sea. He was one of eighteen airmen lost...

Pilot Officer John Hamilton BARRETT,

Pilot Officer Lionel Edgar LEGGE,

Aircraftman 2nd Class Lawrence William TRUESDALE,

Corporal William Palmer HOWSE,

Corporal Herbert Harold ELKIN,

Aircraftman 2nd Class Raymond CHATSON,

Aircraftman 2nd Class Thomas Henry CUMMINGS,

Aircraftman 2nd Class William Bruce WILSON,

Aircraftman 2nd Class Edward Allan THISTLE,

Aircraftman 2nd Class Raymond WATSON,

Aircraftman 2nd Class George William PARKER,

Aircraftman 2nd Class Donald Cameron GLOVER,

Leading Aircraftman Charles Michael McCARRON,

Leading Aircraftman Edward George WALKER,

Leading Aircraftman Dow Lester MITCHELL,

Leading Aircraftman Archie Walker JONES,

Leading Aircraftman Morris Nathan OIRING and

Aircraftman 1st Class Fred George COULSON.

Military Service-

Rank: Aircraftman 2nd Class

Trade: Air Frame Mechanic

Service Number: R/165611

Age: 19

Force: Air Force

Unit: Royal Canadian Air Force

A draftsman by trade, he enlisted in the RCAF on 25 April 1942 in Galt, Ontario, Canada.

Son of William Lawrence and Mabel Victoria (née Taylor) Wilson of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Aircraftman 2nd Class William Bruce Wilson is commemorated on Page 125 of Canada's Second World War Book of Remembrance.

He is also commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.