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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Bullen, John Crellin

Private John Crellin Bullen was the only son of John Bullen and Marian Crellin of Cheshire, England. His parents were both born in Liverpool and they were married there in 1889. They had two daughters, Mary Elizabeth (1890) and Grace Emily (1893). John, their third and youngest child, was born in January 1900 in Seacombe,… Read More »

Forsyth, John Fulton

John Fulton Forsyth was born on 1 October 1896 in Maybole, Ayrshire, Scotland. His parents Edward Forsyth and Elizabeth Robb were both from Maybole, marrying on 27 December 1895 in the Commercial Hotel in Maybole. At the time Edward’s occupation was given as shoemaker (journeyman) while Elizabeth was working as a shoe fitter. John was… Read More »

McConnachie, Thomas

Thomas McConnochie was born on 25 April 1882 in the village of Barleith in the parish of Riccarton in Ayrshire, Scotland as per his Scotland birth record. Over the years, especially in Canada, the surname was spelled McConnachie. His father Thomas, a railway engine driver, was from Dreghorn while his mother Margaret (Maggie) Manson was… Read More »

Stevenson, Henry Raymond

Henry Raymond Stevenson was born on 5 May 1901 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora) in northwestern Ontario. His father Andrew Stevenson was born in Namdalen, Norway and immigrated to Canada around 1896, settling in Rat Portage with two of his brothers to work as miners. The family surname was Sivertsen, changed to Stevenson upon… Read More »

Cornwell, Arthur Lloyd

Lance Corporal Arthur Lloyd Cornwell enlisted in the spring of 1917 and served with the Canadian Forestry Corps for two years. He died on illness in England in February 1919, most likely a casualty of the influenza pandemic. Arthur was the oldest son of John Leslie Cornwell and Henrietta Stone of Kenora, Ontario. John and… Read More »

Lands, George

Private George Lands (aka George Land) enlisted in 1916 and served overseas for two years. He was wounded at the Battle of Passchendaele and returned to Canada in July 1919. George enlisted in Kenora, Ontario on 10 May 1916, signing up with the 141st (Bull Moose) Battalion. He was married and he and his wife… Read More »

Steers, Edwin Albert

Warrant Officer Edwin Albert Steers enlisted in the Royal Air Force in October 1917, at age 16, and went on to have a thirty year career in the military. After his service ended in 1947 he immigrated to Canada. Edwin was born in 1901 in Sittingbourne, Kent, England. His parents, Alfred Steers and Elizabeth Nix,… Read More »

Dunn, Seam Hazelip

According to his attestation papers, Seam Hazelip ‘Sam’ Dunn was born on 17 December 1895 in Flos in the Hillsdale Township, Simcoe, Ontario. His father George Alexander Dunn was from Flos while his mother Mary McQuaig was from nearby Oro. The couple married on 16 May 1888 in Barrie. By the 1901 census the Dunns… Read More »

Williamson, Hector Stuart

Private Hector Stuart Williamson enlisted in the 94th Battalion in September 1915 and served overseas for almost two years. He was wounded twice, at the Vimy front in October 1916 and at Ypres a year later. Hector was the oldest son of Paul Williamson and Margaret Finlayson of Kenora, Ontario. Paul was born in Selkirk,… Read More »

Degagne, Leo Charles

Leo Charles Degagne was born on 06 March 1897 in Rat Portage (now Kenora), Ontario. His parents were Pierre George Degagne and Florida Charron. Siblings included: George (1893-1970), Emile (1894-1953), Joseph (1896-1966), Maria (1899-1899), Albert (1901-1901), Ida (1902-1903), Flora (b. 1904) and Clovis (1906-1915). The 1911 census showed the family living in the neighboring town… Read More »