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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Byers, Edgerton Wellington

According to his attestation papers and Officers’ Declaration Paper, Edgerton (Egerton) Wellington Byers was born on 11 July 1882 in Bailieboro, Ontario, a village in the Township of Cavan near Peterborough. His parents William and Sarah Ann (née Francey) Byers were both from Cavan where they had married in 1862. Farmers, the family was listed… Read More »

Loudon, William Dykes

William Dykes Loudon was born on 13 January 1896 in Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire in Scotland. His father John Loudon, a cheese merchant, was from Strathaven in Lanarkshire. In 1869 he had married his first wife, Grace Peat and together in Strathaven gave birth to children Mary Goole (1869-1945), Gavin (1871-1878), Maggie Dykes (1873), Grace Peat (1875-1903),… Read More »

Stratton, Stanley Carter

Stanley Carter Stratton was born on 6 November 1890 in Gardner, Massachusetts. His parents were George Kendall Stratton and Fannie Goodridge. He had two brothers and one sister: Fred Leighton (b. 1886), Harriet Goodridge (b. 1889) and Raymond Kendall (b. 1895, d. 1903). Stanley grew up in Bradford, New Hampshire and attended Simons Free High… Read More »

Rennie, John Ross

Lance Corporal John Ross Rennie was born in 1889 in New Pitsligo, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. His mother, Mary Rennie, married James Findlay/Finlay the following year and she had at least six children with James: Alexander, Mary, William, Leslie, Jemima and Katherine. Mary and her family immigrated to Canada around 1907 and settled in northwestern Ontario, where… Read More »

Sprickling, Ernest

Along with a number of other fellows, the name Ernest Sprickling appeared in the 21 October 1914 edition of the Kenora Miner and News. The article stated that the volunteers had gone to Winnipeg to enlist in the war. Ernest’s identity and service could not be confirmed.  

Lacey, E

The 17 March 1917 edition of the Kenora Miner and News had an article about Kenora men who had enlisted for overseas service with the 2nd Division of Skilled Railway operators. On the list was fireman E. Lacey. His identity could not be confirmed.  

Dion, William

William Dion was born on 12 June 1895 in Rat Portage (now Kenora), Ontario. His parents were Elziard Dion and Clara Brissette who had married in Rat Portage in 1891. Siblings included Edward, Arthur, Rose Delima, Irene, and Phillip. The family was living in Keewatin at the time of the 1901 census and in Redditt… Read More »

Knight, John William

According to his attestation papers, John William Knight was born on 8 July 1883 in Little Bay, Newfoundland. He was the son of John and Mary Ann Knight, both born in Newfoundland. He had a younger brother James who was born in 1884 in Newfoundland. By the time of the 1901 census the family was… Read More »

Park, Gilbert Earl

Gilbert Earl McConnell was born on 16 October 1898 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), Ontario, confirmed by his Ontario birth record. His parents Robert McConnell and Eliza Jane Copeland, although from Quebec, were both of Irish origin. They married on 14 May 1890 in Kazabazua, La-Vallee-de-la Gatineau in Quebec. The 1891 census found the… Read More »

Paquette, Aime Ernest

Aime Ernest Paquette was born on 6 February 1898 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), Ontario. He was the only child of Joseph Ernest Paquette and Delina Rancourt, both born in Quebec. Delina had married Pierre Ildevert Baribeau in 1874 in St Tide, Quebec although she had been living with her family in Winooski, Vermont… Read More »