Kenora Great War Project

 

You can also view an Alphabetical List

The People

soldier_photobar

These are the stories of Kenora participants in the First World War.

Search by name, or filter the search results using the list of options below.

Bernard, Pierre Noel

Pierre Noel Bernard enlisted with the 94th Battalion for overseas service during WW1 on 17 February 1916 in Kenora, Ontario.  He stated that he was born on 25 December 1877 in St. Ann, Quebec. Birth records (Drouin Collection) show that he was actually born in 1868, so he was 48 years old when he signed… Read More »

Aston, John Watson

John Watson Aston was born in Stafford, Staffordshire, England, birth registered during the third quarter of 1889. His father John Aston was from Ashley in Staffordshire, while his mother Mary Louisa Watson was from Stone, Staffordshire. The couple married on 2 December 1885 in Stone. John had two older sisters, Isabel and Ethel. John Sr… Read More »

Prall-Pierce, Henry Albert

Henry Albert Prall Pierce was born on 10 August 1874 in East Malling, Kent in England. In his early years he went by the name of Harry or Henry Pierce but after immigrating to Canada in 1904 he used the name of Henry or Harry Prall-Pierce. His father William Pierce was from Hadlow, Kent while… Read More »

Bunting, John Benjamin

Lance Corporal John Benjamin Bunting joined the Royal Engineers in 1917 and served with the Inland Water Transport section. He spent 18 months in Mesopotamia and returned to Canada in August 1919. John was the oldest son of Joseph and Mary Elizabeth Bunting of North Vancouver, British Columbia. His parents were both born in Derbyshire,… Read More »

Flanagan, Frederick Henry

Frederick Henry Flanagan was born on 13 September 1894 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), Ontario. His father Joseph Henry Flanagan was from the Walkerton, Ontario area while his mother Christina Matheson was from Prince Edward Island. The couple married in Rat Portage on 19 December 1893 where Joseph was working in one of the… Read More »

Viborg, Barney

Barney (Baring) Viborg was born in Reykjavik, Iceland on June 24, 1892. At some point he immigrated to Canada and settled in Keewatin, Ontario. Barney was a cooper (barrel maker) at the Keewatin flour mill in 1914 when war was declared. Among the first group of 45 Kenora volunteers, he was rejected for service at… Read More »

Moore, Stewart William

With brown hair, gray eyes, and only 1/2 inch difference in height, the Moore twins were born on the same day, had their medical examinations on the same day, both were working as trainmen for the Canadian Pacific Railway at the time of the war, and both were called up for service on the same… Read More »

Whitaker, Roy Wesley James

Roy Wesley James Whitaker was born in April 1897 in Rat Portage (Kenora), Ontario. His birth was registered as 02 April but the 1901 census and his military service files have the date as 12 April.   His parents were William and Elizabeth Jane (Macfie) Whitaker.   Siblings included Alice, Vera, Beryle and Gerald.  William… Read More »

Thiis, Thomas

Midshipman Thomas Thiis was born on 28 December 1900 in Cardiff, Wales. His birth name was Thomas Richard Thüs and his parents were John Prout Thüs and Elizabeth Stoate Date. John’s father, Thomas Christian Thüs, was a master mariner who had immigrated to England from Norway. Over time the surname Thüs became Thiis but it… Read More »

Wiggins, John Alexander

John Alexander Wiggins was born on 4 June 1873 on a farm in the area of Markdale, Ontario, about 150 kilometres northwest of Toronto in the Glenelg district of Grey. His father Thomas Wiggins was an Irish immigrant and his mother Margaret Gillespie, born in the area, was the daughter of Irish immigrants. Thomas and… Read More »