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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Dominique, Theophile

Theophile Dominique was born on 21 December 1889 in Norman, Ontario, a village a couple of kilometres west of Kenora in northwestern Ontario. Both of his parents, Theophile and Celina (née Pion) Dominique were from Quebec but had married on 10 August 1882 in Nashua, New Hampshire. Known for its cotton mills, the town had… Read More »

Gagnon, Charles Joseph

Charles Joseph Gagnon, the  oldest of six sons of Joseph Gagnon and Victoria Madore, was born in Keewatin, Ontario on 19 November 1892. He was raised in Keewatin. The 1911 Canada census shows Charles  living with his family on 10th Street in Keewatin. He was sewing bags for Lake of the Woods Milling Company. Charles… 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 »

Walters, Frederick

Private Frederick Walters was married and the father of eight children when he enlisted in March 1916. His two oldest sons also served during the war and all three of them returned home in 1919. Fred and his wife Emily (née Golding) had immigrated to Canada in 1908 and settled in the town of Kenora,… Read More »

Beatty, Frank William

Frank William Beatty was born 28 April 1892 in Silverbrook, Ontario.  His parents were William John Beatty and Annie Grieves. Siblings included Elizabeth Beatrice and Mary (1891-1909). Frank’s father was a teacher, but in 1892 he went to medical school and by 1896 became a doctor.  Dr. Beatty first practised in Collingwood and then in… Read More »

Fomin, John

Private John Fomin enlisted in May 1916 and served for three years in Canada, England and France. He was wounded in March 1917 and invalided to Canada in December 1918 due to illness. According to his attestation John was born on 26 September 1878 in Odessa, a large city on the northern tip of the… Read More »

Collins, George Ernest

George Ernest Collins was born on 29 September 1890 in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England. His parents Walter and Clara Jane (née Bourne) Collins were both from Birmingham and had married in 1877. George had five older siblings: Walter Percival (1878), Clara Evelyn (1879), John Newton (1881), Arthur Talbot (1883), and Florence Maude (1885). Another child had… Read More »

Symons, Ralph Twenebroke

Ralph Twenebroke Symons was born on 13 April 1877 in Meanwood near Leeds in Yorkshire, England. His father Edward Warwick Jelinger Symons was from Aylestone in Hereford while his mother Hannah Byrth Glazebrook was from Egremont in Cheshire. The couple married in the registration district of Plymouth St Mary in Devonshire during the third quarter… Read More »

Mackie, T S

As reported in the 2 April 1919 edition of the Kenora Miner and News, the towns of Kenora and Keewatin held a large reception at the Tourist Hotel to honour returning veterans. On the list was T. S. Mackie. His identity could not be confirmed.  

Chase, Harry Edward

According to his service record, Harry Edward Chase was born on 14 August 1884 in Redditt, a community about 30 kilometres north of Kenora in northwestern Ontario. Living in Duluth, Minnesota, Harry crossed the border into Canada at Fort Frances prior to enlisting in Winnipeg on 20 June 1918. His occupation was given as lumberman… Read More »