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.

Toole, Archer John

Introduction:  Archer John Toole was one of four brothers who enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. None of them were born in Kenora, and only one, Archer, lived there, for a short time. Yet, the names of all brothers have been recorded in the local newspaper, The Miner and News, because of their connection to… Read More »

L’Heureux, Cecil Peter

Private Cecil Peter L’Heureux enlisted in January 1916 and arrived in France seven months later. He was wounded twice that same year, in September at the Somme Offensive and in December at the Vimy front. He was invalided back to Canada in September 1917. Cecil was the son of Peter L’Heureux and Ellen (Nellie) O’Hara… Read More »

Coles, Edward Claud

Edward Claud Coles was born on 14 August 1892 in Beith, Ayrshire in Scotland. His father Francis (Frank) Coles was from Croydon, England while his mother Ellen Dumbrill was from Brighton, England. Both living in Newbridge, County Kildare in Ireland at the time, the couple married on 4 May 1880 in nearby Morristown Biller. Frank… Read More »

McCuaig, John Duncan

Private John Duncan McCuaig was born on 8 November 1894 in Keewatin, Ontario. His parents, William McCuaig and Mary McLean, were both born in Ontario and John was the oldest of at least six children. Neil Dougald (1897) and twins Annie May and William Angus (1899) were born in Keewatin where William worked as a… Read More »

Binns, Percy Vere

Percy Vere Binns was born on 9 February 1893 in Port Antonio, Jamaica.  Both of his parents had also been born in Jamaica. His father Ellis Panton Binns was the son of cabinet maker John Binns and wife  Jessie and his mother Amelia Saffery was the daughter of William and Amelia Saffery. In a christening… Read More »

Clarke, John

Private John Clarke enlisted in November 1915 and served in France with the 16th (Canadian Scottish) Battalion. He was wounded in August 1918 at the Battle of Amiens and invalided to Canada five months later. According to his attestation John was born on 5 March 1884 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. He immigrated to Canada around… Read More »

Gibben, Paul Burman

Paul Burman Gibben was born on 22 July 1898 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His father William Gibben was from Barnaby Moor while his mother Sarah Eleanor Burman was from Middlesborough, both in Yorkshire, England. The couple married during the last quarter of 1890 in the registration district of Middlesborough. At the time of the 1891 England… Read More »

Beaudin, Stanislas

Wenceslas Baudin was born on 28 September 1863 in Grand Rivière, Gaspé, Quebec. Over the years he went by both Wenceslas and Stanislas and the surname was spelled as Baudin and Beaudin, the latter in later years. His parents were Fidele Baudin and Elizabeth Bisson who had married on 3 December 1857 in Grand Rivière…. Read More »

Sherrett, Joseph Allan

Joseph Allan Sherrett was born on 02 May 1897 in Dundee, Scotland.   He was the youngest child of James Sherrett, a railway engine driver, and Rebecca Macallister. His siblings included James A. (born 1880), Annie F. (born 1882), Margaret M. (1884 – 1937), Jean Belle (1886 – 1972), John Ross (1888 – 1955), Isabella… Read More »

Woodley, Charles James

Gunner Charles James Woodley was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and living in California when the war started. He returned to Canada in 1918 and served for 14 months with the Royal Canadian Garrison Artillery. Charles was the oldest son of Henry Richard and Matilda Woodley of Victoria, British Columbia. He was born in Winnipeg on… Read More »