Postmaster.
Born at Bradford, Yorkshire, England on 6 August 1889, son of John Wilkinson and Elizabeth Rudkin, he was educated at Bradford before coming to Canada in 1909 and farming near Birtle.
In April 1916, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and served in the 226th Battalion under Lieutenant-Colonel Gillespie. He went overseas in December 1916 and arrived in France in May 1917 where he was attached to the 43rd Battalion. Wounded at Lens (Cite St. Pierre) in May 1917, he was invalided to Etaples, Ipswich and Basinstoke before returning to Canada where he convalesced at Brant House and the Orthopedic Hospital at Toronto.
Following his military discharge, he returned to Birtle where he was acting postmaster (1918-1919) before being appointed postmaster in 1919. He served in the position until retirement in 1949.
On 17 November 1913, he married Lottie Hart (1894-1973) at Birtle and they had five children: Marion Elizabeth Wilkinson (1919-2013, wife of Nelson Graham), Ethel May Wilkinson (1922-2018, wife of Lorne Wotton), John Hart Wilkinson (1924-1924), Irene Wilkinson (?-?, wife of Ben Schmid), and George Arthur Wilkinson (1926-1994). He was a member of the IOOF and St. George's Anglican Church.
He died at Birtle on 12 June 1976 and was buried in the Birtle Cemetery.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Dominion Post Office Building (719 Main Street, Birtle, Municipality of Prairie View)
Birth registration [Lottie Hart, Marion Elizabeth Wilkinson, Ethel May Wilkinson], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Marriage registration [Percy Wilkinson, Lottie Hart], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Death registration [John Hart Wilkinson], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925.
“Mrs. Lottie Wilkinson enters into rest,” Birtle Eye-Witness, 16 January 1974, page 2.
“Percy Wilkinson enters rest at Birtle,” Birtle Eye-Witness, 11 February 1976, page 2.
Obituary [George Arthur Wilkinson], Birtle Eye-Witness, 6 December 1994, page 13.
Obituary [Marion E. Graham], Brandon Sun, 15 June 2013, page C5.
Obituary [Ethel May Wotton], Shoal Lake Crossroads, 20 April 2018, page 21.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Darryl Toews.
Page revised: 11 March 2024
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