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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Parsons, Henry Edmund

Henry Edmund Parsons was born 2 January 1887 in Rat Portage, Ontario. His parents were Alfred Joseph Parsons and Florence Nightingale Johnstone. Alfred and Florence were both born in Quebec, Alfred in Huntingdon and his wife in Sorel. They were married in Montreal in October 1883 and their first child, Beatrice, was born the following… Read More »

Lampshire, Richard James

Richard James Lampshire was born on 22 July 1895 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), Ontario. Both of his parents, Henry (Harry) Lampshire and Grace Smith Bailey, were from Cornwall, England. Living in Silver Islet, Algoma, Ontario on the shores of Lake Superior, the couple married on 20 July 1883 in Prince Arthur Landing (now… Read More »

Craig, David Hill

David Hill Craig was born on 19 March 1899 in Ottawa, Ontario. His father John McFarlane Craig was from Paisley, Scotland while his mother Elizabeth Hill was from Ireland. The couple married during the month of August in 1886 at the Saint Andrew Presbyterian Church in Montreal, Quebec. Settling in the Ottawa area, at the… Read More »

Begg, Duncan

Duncan Begg was born on 19 July 1897 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora) in northwestern Ontario. He was the son of James and Jemina (née Muggaberg) Begg. Originally from Selkirk/St Andrews, Manitoba, the couple had married 27 August 1891 in Rat Portage. James had  moved to the area in 1888, employed by the Hudson’s Bay… Read More »

Frood, Andrew

Andrew William Frood was the eighth of eleven children born to Andrew Forrest Frood and Isabella Forrest on the 12th of July 1973 in Renfrew, Renfrew County Ontario. In 1891 (age 18) he was still living in Renfrew with his brother Samuel.   His occupation was listed as blacksmith. In 1900 (age 27) Andrew was… Read More »

Blight, Marcus Joseph

Throughout the war railroads were essential for evacuating the wounded and moving troops, equipment and supplies, and skilled workers were needed for their construction, maintenance and operation. Second Corporal Marcus Joseph Blight, a CPR employee from Kenora, Ontario, enlisted with a railway unit in February 1917 and served in France and Belgium for two years…. Read More »

Clarkson, John Gordon

Lance Sergeant John Gordon Clarkson enlisted in November 1915 and served overseas with the 116th Battalion. He was seriously wounded in the last months of the war and he returned to Canada in May 1919 to continue his convalescence. Gordon was born on 31 March 1891 in Rat Portage, Ontario, the youngest son of James… Read More »

Switzer, Milford William

Private Milford William Switzer enlisted in September 1915 and served for 18 months in Canada, England and France. For much of that time he suffered from ill health and he died of pneumonia in March 1917. Milford was the oldest son of John Thomas Switzer and Elizabeth Kingsborough of Paisley, Ontario. Thomas and Elizabeth were… Read More »

Giving, Martin

Corporal Martin Giving was living in Kenora, Ontario when he was called up under the U.S. draft in July 1918. He served in the U.S. Army for five months. Martin was the oldest son of Ole and Anna Giving (Geving/Gjeving) of Haugen, Aitken County, Minnesota. Ole and Anna were both born in Norway and they… Read More »

Eager, Harry Herbert

Corporal Harry Herbert Eager enlisted in August 1915 and served for almost three years in Canada, Great Britain, France and Belgium. He was invalided home in May 1918 due to illness. Harry was the son of Harry Headley Eager and Priscilla Emmons of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Harry Sr. was born in Ontario and Priscilla was from… Read More »