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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Parsons, Edward John

Sergeant Edward John Parsons immigrated to Canada with his family in 1913, a year before the war started. He returned to England in August 1914 and served with the Royal Field Artillery until the end of the war. Edward was born in Exeter, a river port city in the county of Devon in southwest England…. Read More »

Mellish, George Robert

Gunner George Robert Mellish enlisted in Vancouver in the spring of 1916. He served with artillery units for three years in Canada, Great Britain and France and returned to Canada in June 1919. George was the oldest son of Alfred Mellish and Rosa Derry of Vancouver, British Columbia. Alfred was born and raised in Galt,… Read More »

Valentine, David Bowhey

David Bowhey Valentine was born on 8 May 1882, birth registration found for Southwold, Elgin, Ontario. His parents were  David Carson  and Elizabeth (née Bowhey) Valentine who had married on 1 October 1881 in Nichol, Wellington, Ontario. Other children born to the couple were Mabel, Violante, Bessie,and Leighton. Earlier in the 1881 Canada census for… Read More »

McLeod, Duncan (1897-1941)

Private Duncan McLeod (Jr.) was born in Canada and living in Scotland when the war started. He served in the British army and moved back to Canada after the war. Duncan was the son of Duncan McLeod Sr. and Mary Munro of Keewatin, Ontario. His parents were both born in Scotland and they immigrated to… Read More »

Coles, William Henry

William Henry Coles was born on 29 July 1872 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. His father Thomas Coles, a coachman, was from Littleton, Bristol while his mother Mary Ann Lilley was from Ledbury, Herefordshire. The couple married in 1868 in Tunbridge Wells. William had an older sister Amy who was born in late 1869 but… Read More »

Harpin, George Alphonse

George Alphonse Harpin was born on 19 January 1884 in Saint-Ours, Quebec, birth name on his baptism record given as Alphonse Charles Joseph Arpin. Saint-Ours is on the south side of the Saint Lawrence River between Montreal and Trois Riviere. His father Francois Xavier Harpin (Arpin) was a navigateur (sailor) and had married Marie Lahaise… Read More »

Robertson, William

Corporal William Robertson was 52 years old when he enlisted in July 1916. He served in France with the Canadian Forestry Corps and returned to Canada in December 1917. William was born on 8 November 1863 in Cupar, County of Fife, Scotland. His wife, Bertha Louisa Thompson, was born in Lancashire, England. They were married… Read More »

Nickle, John James

Sapper John James Nickle was the only son of Daniel Nickle (Nichol) and Jane Johnston of Ottawa, Ontario. Daniel was from Quebec and his wife was born in Ottawa. They had at least five children, all born in Ottawa: John James (b. 21 May 1878), Mary Ann, Sarah, Agnes and Rebecca. When the 1891 census… Read More »

White, Thomas William

Thomas William White was born to Joseph and Ann White in Derby, England on May 9th, 1887. He immigrated to Keewatin, Canada in 1911, with his wife Annie Ellen following in 1912. Their son, Thomas William was born in 1913 or 1914. Thomas enlisted on August 16th, 1916 and was assigned to the 238th Battalion…. Read More »