Surgeon William Elliot Fraser served in the Merchant Navy during the Second World War. He was the son of James Harshaw Fraser and Sophia Robinson Elliot Fraser of London, Ontario, Canada.
Fraser’s father was a respected Canadian lawyer and political figure in Ontario. He represented London in the Canadian House of Commons from 1975 to 1878 as a Liberal-Conservative. James studied law with William Elliot who would later become a Canadian judge. The two must have had a close relationship as James would give his son the same name.
William Elliot Fraser would go on to study medicine, graduating as a medical doctor in 1910 in his hometown at Western University of London, Ontario, Canada. A medical directory lists his place of employment as the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) at 122 Leadenhall Street, London, United Kingdom.
He became a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1915. During The Great War, he served as a Captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps from 23rd March 1916. During the Second World War, Fraser served on board the Glasgow, Scotland registered S.S. Peshawur (141934). The Peshawur was part of the P&O fleet.
He died on 15th September 1946 aged 67-years-old. His place of death states “at home” at Bangor, Co. Down. At the time, he and wife Caroline Fraser lived at 4 Grovehill Gardens, Bangor, Co. Down.
William Elliot Fraser’s grave is in Section 4R, Grave 158 of Bangor Cemetery, Bangor, Co. Down. His name is on Page 138 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance.