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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Linn, William Oliver

William Oliver Linn was born on 31 October 1874 in the township of Smith, Peterborough, Ontario, date confirmed by his Ontario birth record. He was the son of David Linn and Ann Regan who had married on 21 October 1868 in Peterborough. His known older siblings were David and Emma while younger siblings were Eliza… Read More »

Hamel, George

George James Hamel was most likely born on 28 February 1883 in Lorette, Manitoba. His birth was registered in St. Boniface (now part of Winnipeg) as Georges Julien Roger. His parents were Amede Hamel and Odile Lamy. Odile was born in Quebec but different census records give Amede’s birth place as Quebec, Ontario and the… Read More »

Norberg, Victor Albert

Victor Albert Norberg was born on 13 July 1894 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora) in northwestern Ontario. His father Charles Eric Norberg was from Sweden while his mother Marguerite Jensen was from Denmark, the couple marrying in Rat Portage on 16 July 1891. At the time of the marriage Charles Sr’s occupation was given… Read More »

Reid, Elmer Henry

Elmer Henry Reid was born on 25 March 1892 in Poplar Point in the RM of Woodlands in south central Manitoba. His parents, both from southern Ontario, were William Henry Reid and Margaret Melissa Darling. The couple had married on 2 May 1888 in Smith Township in the Peterborough District. After giving birth to son… Read More »

Gamble, Alexander

Alexander Gamble joined the Royal Flying Corps in October 1917, at age 22, and served in Canada for 15 months as an Aircraft Mechanic 3rd Class. Alex was the son of John Henry Gamble and Margaret Jean Campbell of Kenora, Ontario. John was born in Watertown, Wisconsin and came to Canada around 1885. Margaret was… Read More »

Charlebois, Emile

Private Emile Charlebois of Kenora, Ontario was called up in November 1917, at age 28. He served for seven months with the 1st Depot Battalion, Manitoba Regiment. Emile was the youngest son of Joseph Charlebois and his second wife Azilda Picard. Joseph married Azilda in October 1884 in Saint André-Avellin, Quebec, a small village north… Read More »

McGuire, Edwin Ernest

Edwin Ernest McGuire was born on 2 April 1902 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), Ontario. Both of his parents, Edwin Ernest McGuire and Mary Jessie (May) Parsons, were from Quebec. The couple married in late 1885 in Richmond, Quebec although Edwin was listed as working in Montreal as a fireman, presumably with a railway,… Read More »

Caslake, Gordon Douglas

Gordon Douglas Caslake was born on 27 December 1897 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora) in northwestern Ontario. His parents were George and Rachel (née Coupland) Caslake who had married in London, Ontario in 1884. The couple settled in St Mary’s, Ontario, Rachel’s home town, where George worked as a butcher. George and Rachel gave… Read More »

Mills, George William

George William Mills was born on 6 June 1898 in Rat Portage (Kenora), Ontario. His father, Peter Clarke Mills, had been born in Scotland and come to Canada in 1890. Peter joined the staff of G. Rioch in 1892 and worked in watch and jewelry repairs for the next 47 years. He married Ellen ‘Nellie’… Read More »

Murgatroyd, Sydney

Private Sydney Murgatroyd was the son of Benjamin John Murgatroyd and Harriet Ann Taylor. Benjamin and Harriet were both born in England. They were married in 1894 in Rat Portage, Ontario, where Benjamin worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway. They had at least five children: Jessie May (1894), Bertram (1896), Sydney (1898), Harriet Edith (1904)… Read More »