BX June 9, 1916
Lance Corporal Robert Wakeling Returns – Unostentatiously Slipped into City on a Short Furlough
Few men have been to the battlefields of Europe and returned to this city as unostentatiously as lance Corporal Robert Francis Wakeling, who slipped quietly into the city on Tuesday last, and with the knowledge of only a few of his most intimate friends, returned to his home at 14 Burford Street, much to the delight of his wife and family. Lance Corporal Robert Wakeling, who left here early in the annals of the war with Col. Colquhoun in the 4th Battalion, has seen considerable service in the trenches, having engaged in many battles, through all of which he passed unscathed, with the exception of a minor injury to one of his ears, which left no serious results. He is home for two weeks, having received six weeks furlough, and many of his old friends during the past few days have been more than agreeably surprised to meet him on the street, not having heard of his receiving leave of absence.
BX May 5, 1942
Father and Three Sons are Serving
Lt. R.F. (Bob) Wakeling and his three sons, Dufferin, Lawrence and Ronald, are certainly doing their bit for King and Country. All four are in the Canadian armed forces. Three are with the army and the fourth is in the air force. Lt. Wakeling, at present at Camp Borden, is a veteran of the First Great War, being one of the originals of the famous 4th (Mad Fourth) Battalion. He served in France and Belgium from 1915 to 1916 and returned to Canada in 1917. Flying Officer Dufferin Wakeling, R.C.A.F., is stationed in Western Canada. He graduated in April, 1941. From No. 6 S.F.T.S., Dunnville, Pte. Lawrence Wakeling enlisted in the Canadian Army two years ago and has been overseas a year. He was with the H.L.I. Trooper Ronald Wakeling is the latest member of the family to enlist and has been with the army for seven weeks. He is stationed at Camp Borden. Mrs. R.F. Wakeling resides at 82 Clarence Street.
BX May 16, 1942
Bob Wakeling Now Captain
Captain R.F. (Bob) Wakeling, who has been promoted to that rank from lieutenant. Bob Wakeling is a veteran of the First Great War, and in peace-time served with the Dufferin and Haldimand Rifles of Canada. He enlisted in the present war and was granted the rank of sergeant. Later he was chosen to attend the Officers’ Training School at Brockville and graduated as a lieutenant. His promotion to the rank of captain came on the anniversary of the Second Battle of Ypres, which took place April 23, 1915. Bob Wakeling was in that big show as a member of the 4th (Mad Fourth) Battalion. He is now on the officer staff of A-11 Canadian Army Advance Training Centre, Camp Borden. Capt. Wakeling has three sons on active service: Flying Officer Dufferin Wakeling, R.C.A.F., at Canadian coastal station; Pte. Lawrence Wakeling overseas and Trooper Ronald Wakeling in training at Camp Borden. The family residence is at 82 Clarence Street.
BX March 15, 1948
Robert Francis (Bob) Wakeling died at Christie Street Hospital, Toronto on Sunday following a lengthy illness and Brantford lost a man who for more than three decades wrote his name prominently in its military history, and who was a civil servant here for a quarter of a century. Few local men were better known or more appreciated for their worth.
Bob Wakeling was a veteran of both the First and Second World Wars. Born in England 59 years ago, he came to Canada and Brantford in 1910. Enrolling in the Dufferin Rifles of Canada prior to 1914, he enlisted for active service in the First World War at the outset and served with distinction in the 4th (Mad Fourth) Battalion. His letters home during that war were most interesting and his description of the Second Battle of Ypres found insertion in the military section of the “History of the County of Brant,” (F.D. Reville.)
After the conclusion of World War One, he again returned to the Dufferin Rifles and for years was sergeant-major. He was a master of drill and his contribution to the unit was great. When the Second World War broke out, he immediately offered his services and was called to active duty in 1940. His military knowledge won recognition and he rose to the rank of captain being an instructor at Camp Borden. Towards the end of the war he became ill and had to undergo an operation and early in 1946 received his discharge.
Following the first war, he entered the civil service and at the time of his death was senior postal clerk here. He was well known to the public for his courteous and kindly manner and willingness to give advice and assistance.
Mr. Wakeling was a member of Reba Lodge, A.F. and A.M., the 4th Battalion Association, the Brantford Branch of the Canadian Legion and the Postal Clerks Association.
Surviving are his widow, formerly Annie Churchill, five sons and three daughters. They are Lawrence and Ronald, both of whom served in the Second World War, Vincent, Robert and Kenneth, Mrs. William (Frances) Lyons, Mrs. Jack (Elsie) Stuart, all of Brantford and Mrs. George (Patricia) Lang, Hamilton (also a veteran of the last war). There are also six grandchildren. A son Flt.-Lt. Dufferin Wakeling, R.C.A.F., gave his life in the last war.
Mr. Wakeling is resting at the Beckett Funeral Home where the funeral service will be conducted on Tuesday afternoon. Interment will be in the Soldiers’ Plot at Mount Hope Cemetery.
BX March 17, 1948
Impressive final tribute was paid to Robert F. Wakeling on Tuesday afternoon when hundreds of citizens attended the funeral service conducted at the Beckett Funeral Home and also the burial in the Soldiers’ Plot at Mount Hope Cemetery. The many floral tributes also evinced the esteem in which the deceased had been held. Rev. F.W. Schaffter, St. Jude’s Anglican Church, was in charge of the services. The large assemblage included representatives from local military units of today and other years, many civil servants and representatives of fraternal organizations. Members of the local 4th Battalion Association attended in a body. On Monday night at the funeral home a Masonic service was conducted by W. Bro. Jack Milroy, Reba Lodge, A.F. and A.M., assisted by W. Bros. C. Dickinson, Dean Brooks, S.W. Sims, Thomas Hall and W. McDonald. The flower-bearers were all members of Branch 90, Canadian Legion, and were in charge of E.R. Edwards. The Last Post was sounded at the grave by Bugler Bessant. The pallbearers were Thomas Anderson and Peter Whelan, representing the Brantford Branch of the 4th Battalion Association; George Webster and A.H. Davis, representing the 56th L.A.A. Regiment (Dufferin and Haldimand Rifles), and E.H. Kite and D.H. Hammer, representing the staff of the Brantford Post Office.
