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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Tweedie, Louis Herwald

Private Louis Herwald Tweedie was born in either Rat Portage or Norman, Ontario on 8 February 1893. He had an older brother Roswell Dawson and two younger sisters, Hazel and Olive, all born in Norman or Rat Portage (now called Kenora). His father, Eusebius Dawson Tweedie, was from Carlton Place, Ontario and his mother, Christina… Read More »

Newman, Ernest Maitland

Ernest Maitland Newman was born on 01 October 1899 in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.  His parents were Colin Campbell Newman and Helen Margaret Armstrong.  Siblings included: Charles Frederick (1892-1938), Helen Margaret (1893-1976) and Victor Bell (1896-1981). When he was 18, on 3 June 1918, Ernest enlisted with the RAF in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  He served in… Read More »

Benson, Robert John

Robert John (Bobby) Benson was born on 18 May 1894 in Davidson, Saskatchewan. His parents Hans Benedikt Johannesson and Rosa Gudmundsdottir were from Iceland, marrying on 22 July 1876 in Grenadarstadur, Sudur-Thingeyjarsysea. The couple gave birth to two children in Iceland, Egill (George) in 1875 and Vestium (Weston) in 1879. At some point after Weston’s… Read More »

McKie, Allan Paton

Private Allan Paton McKie enlisted in the 52nd (New Ontario) Battalion in May 1915. He died of wounds a year later during the Battle of Mount Sorrel. Allan was the youngest child of William McKie and Agnes Hill. William and Agnes were married in December 1875 in Girvan, Ayrshire, Scotland. They had nine children, seven… Read More »

Cory, Philip Thomas

Private Philip Thomas Cory was born in England and living in Canada when the war started. He returned to the UK in 1915 and enlisted in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Philip was the son of William Henry Cory and Lucy Ann Freeman of Northampton, Northamptonshire, England. William and Lucy were married in 1877 and… Read More »

Ross, John Alexander

John Alexander Ross, known as Jack to many and as Oley to his closest friends, was born in what was then Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora) in October 1893 to Walter and Grace Ross. His parents had married in 1888 in Windsor, Ontario and moved to Rat Portage a short time later. Their first child,… 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 »

Mahoney, James Robert

According to his attestation papers, James Robert Mahoney was born on 27 July 1887 in Melrose, New Brunswick. Originally known as Emigrant Road, in the 1820’s and 1830’s free land grants for farming were available in the area in the hope of attracting pioneer immigrants. As a result, the village of Ballynamuck, parish of Moragh… Read More »

Fortin, Edgar

Private Edgar Fortin enlisted in April 1916, at age 17, and arrived in France four months later. He was killed in November 1917 at the Battle of Passchendaele. Edgar was the youngest son of Charles François Fortin and Emilie Jolicouer of Kenora, Ontario. Charles was from the Gaspé region in eastern Quebec and Emilie was… Read More »