Kenora Great War Project

 

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The People

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

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Garner, Charles William

Private Charles William Garner enlisted in Kenora, Ontario on 19 May 1915. His gave his birth date as 31 July 1875 in Flore, Northamptonshire, England and next of kin as Clark Garner of Northampton, Northamptonshire. His relationship to Clark was not stated. Charles said he had served for twelve years in the Northamptonshire Regiment, Royal… Read More »

Smith, Leonard Edward

Leonard Edward Smith was one of three of seven sons of Charles Alexander Smith of Keewatin, to enlist during the Great War. Leonard and his older brother   John Wesley Smith served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force, while Charles Henry Smith served with the U.S. Army Born May 4, 1895 in the Muskoka District of central… Read More »

Ferguson, Julian Harcourt

Julian Harcourt Ferguson was born on 2 June 1895 in Barrie, Ontario. His father Thomas Roberts Ferguson, a barrister, was from the Cookstown area about thirty kilometres south of Barrie while his mother Etta May Hanmer was from nearby Bell Ewart. The couple married on 5 November 1890 in Toronto, giving birth to son Arthur… Read More »

Ross, William

According to his attestation papers, William Ross was born on 10 May 1893 in Keewatin, Ontario, a small community about five kilometres west of Kenora in northwestern Ontario. However the 1901 Canada census gave the date as 8 January 1895 and his later obituary as 3 January 1889 in Rush Bay west of Keewatin on… Read More »

Reed, Charles

Sergeant Charles Reed was born in England and served in the British army during the war. He immigrated to Canada in 1924 and spent some time living and working in the Kenora area. Charles was the son of Richard Reed and Clara Ellen English. Richard was born in Cambridgeshire, England and Clara in Norfolk. They… Read More »

Desantils, George

According to his attestation papers, George Desantils was born on 14 October 1882 in Eastman, Quebec. Neither a birth record or family could be confirmed for him although his service record indicated that he was the son of Peter (deceased) and Mary Desantils. By 1906 George was living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, marrying on 12… Read More »

Edwards, Frank

Frank Edwards and his twin sister, Nora , were born on 12 November 1877 in Waterloo, Lancashire, England. His parents Ellis Edwards (a trader who had business in Africa with his headquarters in Liverpool) and Ellen Allen had married in 1864. Other siblings included Allan (1867-1897), Helen (1868-1950), Sybil (born 1880) and Gladys (born 1883)…. Read More »

Vice, Evelyn

Nursing Sister Evelyn Jemima Vice was born on 20 January 1894 in Berlin (now called Kitchener), Waterloo County, Ontario. Her parents were Alfred David Vice and Sarah Catherine Hamilton. Alfred, a skilled machinist, was born in London, England and Sarah in St. Mary’s, Perth County, Ontario. They were married in St. Mary’s in 1887. Evelyn… Read More »

Creighton, Robert Bathgate

Robert Bathgate Creighton was born on 12 November 1891 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), Ontario. His father George Creighton, the son of Irish immigrants, was from the Waltham area of Quebec and had married Margaret Gardner, the daughter of Scottish immigrants, who was from Dalhousie, Lanark, Upper Canada. By the mid 1870’s the couple… Read More »