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 1908 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.
Sometime between 1911 and 1915, 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.
He arrived back in England in September, 1916, and with other
men of the 146th BN* he joined the 4CMR on December 1st, 1916. Sadly, on April
11th, 1917, Albert, aged 31, was killed in the action at Vimy Ridge and he was
subsequently buried at the Thelus Military Cemetery in France.
His cousin, George, survived the War.
Please click on the image to see a larger version of the picture.
Story credit: Linda Heffernan
*It is of interest to note that 276 men of the 146th BN came into the
4CMR 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 (inlcuding Albert)
and one as late as November 9th, 1918 (a further man died of wounds
in February 1919).
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