Kenora Great War Project

 

You can also view an Alphabetical List

The People

soldier_photobar

These are the stories of Kenora participants in the First World War.

Search by name, or filter the search results using the list of options below.

Roger, Andrew John

Andrew John Roger was born on 13 April 1898 in Clintery, Newhills, a small community just northwest of Aberdeen in Scotland. His father Andrew Roger was from Rathen, Fraserburgh while his mother Elizabeth Ruxton was from Belhelvie, both in Aberdeenshire. The couple married on 19 May 1897 in Strichen, a small town near where Andrew… Read More »

Toole, Archer John

Introduction:  Archer John Toole was one of four brothers who enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. None of them were born in Kenora, and only one, Archer, lived there, for a short time. Yet, the names of all brothers have been recorded in the local newspaper, The Miner and News, because of their connection to… Read More »

Collins, John Patrick

John Patrick Collins was born on 15 March 1894 in Marylebone, London, England. He was the first child of John and Susan Jane (née Rackley) Collins, both  from Marylebone. Other children born to the family in England were Mary (1899), Richard (1901), Margaret (Maggie)(1904), and William (1906). The family was found on the passenger list… Read More »

Armour, Robert

Private Robert Armour was married and the father of two young children when he enlisted in Winnipeg in January 1916. He was wounded in the last weeks of the war but he survived and returned home in March 1919. Robert was the oldest son of Thomas and Jane Armour of Keewatin, Ontario. He was born… Read More »

Cooper, Arthur

The Somme Offensive was a series of battles that lasted from July to November 1916 and resulted in enormous casualties for both sides. The Canadian Corps moved to the Somme area in late August and their first major engagement began in mid-September. Second Corporal Arthur Cooper was killed on 8 October near Courcelette, one of… Read More »

Collier, Edward Carlos

According to his service record, Edward Carlos Collier was born on 10 May 1894 in Geneva, Switzerland. Living in Kenora, Ontario and working as a bank clerk, he signed his attestation papers in Winnipeg, Manitoba on 7 April 1916 with the 203rd Battalion. He gave his uncle Albert Brondell in Plum Coulee, Manitoba as next… Read More »

McNicol, Robert

Robert McNicol was born on 28 May 1898 in the district of Kinning Park in Glasgow, Scotland, date confirmed by his Scotland birth registration record. His father William McNicol, a marine engineer, was from Alloa in Clackmannshire while his mother Mary McLeod Martin was from Ayr in Ayrshire. The couple married in Kinning Park on… Read More »

Healey, William Henry

William Henry Healey joined the Royal Flying Corps in August 1917, at age 22, and served in Canada for one year as an Aircraft Mechanic 3rd Class. William Henry Healey was the son of William and Mary Healey of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. William Sr., a blacksmith, was born in Ontario and his wife in Wisconsin. They… Read More »

Saunders, George Edgar

George Edgar Saunders was born on 3 August 1879 in Selkirk in the Township of Walpole, Haldimand, Ontario. His parents William Saunders, a carriage maker, and Martha Graham were both from Ontario, marrying on 16 September 1874 in Selkirk. George had two older brothers, Albert Edwin (1875) and Harvey (1877), and a younger brother William… Read More »

Haight, Ernest Joseph

Private Ernest Joseph Haight was born on 25 September 1900 in Cedar Lake, Manitoba. His parents, Edward Benjamin Haight and Elizabeth Annie Garvie, were both born in Ontario. They were married in 1885 in Winnipeg, Manitoba and they had at least six children: Edward Laurence, Gordon Joyner, Elizabeth Olive, Edith Annie, Ernest Joseph and Harold… Read More »