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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Weir, George Patrick

George Patrick Weir was born on 9 August 1890 in Fergus, Ontario. His father William Anderson Weir was from Glasgow, Scotland and had immigrated to Canada in 1883. His mother Josephine Van Felson was born in Quebec City where the couple married in 1889. The marriage registration gave William’s occupation as employee of the Imperial… Read More »

Purvis, Thomas Harry

Thomas Harry Purvis was born in 1897 in the Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland registration district, birth registered during the 3rd quarter. His parents were William John Purvis and Sarah Hannah Forster who had married in 1896. Thomas had a younger sister Martha who was born in 1900. It appears that Thomas’ father died in 1910…. Read More »

Holt, Harry

Lance Corporal Harry Holt joined the British army in 1912 and served for eight years, two of them spent as a German prisoner of war. After his discharge in 1920 he immigrated to Canada. Harry was the son of Walter Holt and Eliza Riley of Manchester, Lancashire, England. Walter and Eliza were married in 1890… Read More »

Waugh, George

George Waugh was born on 1 April 1898 in the district of St Peter in the city of Dundee in Forfarshire, Scotland. Forfarshire was renamed as Angus in 1928. Dundee, a maritime city in the east of Scotland, is located on the River Tay as it flows into the North Sea. George’s father was William… Read More »

Ans, Edward Arthur

Private Edward Arthur Ans (Anns) enlisted in April 1916 and served in France with the 27th Battalion. He was wounded at the Battle of Vimy Ridge and he returned to Canada in November 1918. Edward was the son of David Ans and Harriett Brownrigg of Whitemouth, Manitoba. Harriett was born in Yorkshire, England and came… Read More »

Gooding, Stratton Blair

The Somme Offensive was a series of battles that lasted from July to November 1916 and resulted in enormous casualties for both the Allied and German armies. The Canadian Corps arrived at the Somme in late August and in less than three months they suffered 24,000 casualties. One of the wounded was Private Stratton Blair… Read More »

Holmstrom, August Michael

August Michael Holmstrom was born on 25 August 1895 in the village of Norman near Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora) in northwestern Ontario. His father Erik Olaf (Jansson) Holmstrom was from Gräsmark, Varmland in Sweden and had immigrated to Canada with his parents John and Kasja in late October of 1887. The family settled in… Read More »

Millward, Joseph

The son of George Millward and Margaret Donald, Joseph Millward was born on 28 August 1899 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), Ontario, date of birth confirmed by his Ontario birth record. His father George, a cook, was from England while his mother’s Métis roots were in the Red River Settlement in Manitoba. Margaret had… Read More »

Davidson, Raymond Glenn

Raymond Glenn Davidson (known as Glenn) was born on 16 March 1896 in Brighton, Ontario.  He was the son of farmer David R. Davidson and Addie May Glenn. His siblings included sister Margery (born 1900) and brother Morley (born 1902). Glenn was a medical school student at Queen’s University when he enlisted with the Canadian… Read More »

Bissette, Ernest

Rifleman Ernest Bissette was called up in September 1918, at age 31. He served for nine months in Canada and Siberia, returning home in June 1919. Ernest Bissette (Bessette) was the son of Narcisse Bessette and Rosina St. Denis of Chapeau, Allumettes Island, Quebec. Narcisse and Rosina were married in 1870 and over the next… Read More »