835161 Pte. Albert Lineker was born in Leicester, England, in 1886. In his teens he worked in a shoe factory along with other family members. His uncle, also named Albert Lineker (the family tagged them Sr. and Jr.), emigrated to Prince Edward County in Ontario in 1906, sponsored for a term of five years by a farmer in need of labourers.
Albert (Jr). arrived in 1907 and it is believed that he, too, was sponsored as the next Canadian census shows him listed as a servant on the farm next to the one where Albert Sr. worked.
In 1913 Albert Jr.'s parents and his siblings also arrived in Ontario. In late summer of 1915, Albert Jr.'s cousin, George, who was 16, lied about his age and enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. In December, Albert followed, attesting as Private, 835161, into the 146th Battalion.
Arriving back in England in September, 1916, men of the 146th Battalion* joined the 4th CMR on December 1st, 1916. Sadly, on April 11th, 1917, Albert, aged 31, was killed in the action at Vimy Ridge. He is buried at the Thelus Military Cemetery in France. His cousin, George, survived the War.
Picture and biography credit: Linda Heffernan
*It is of interest to note that 276 men of the 146th Battalion came into the 4th CMR through WW1. 151 of these were in the December 1916 contingent with Albert. Of those 151, 39 were lost in action, 6 on April 11th, 1917 (including Albert) and one as late as November 9th, 1918 (a further man died of wounds in February 1919). [4cmr.com]