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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Villeneuve, Edmond

According to his obituary, Edmond Villeneuve was born on 23 March 1889 in Balfort River, Manitoba. His parents Simon Villeneuve and Marie Anne Lavoie were both from Quebec, marrying on 11 February 1877 in Notre Dame du Lac St Jean, Roberval, Chicoutimi where their families farmed. Children born to the couple in Quebec were Patrick… Read More »

Murray, James Hugh

Lance Corporal James Hugh Murray joined the British army early in the war and served with the 6th Royal Highlanders (Black Watch) until July 1916, when he suffered a serious leg wound. He was discharged in December 1917. James was born in 1893 in Dunblane, Perthshire, Scotland, the son of Alexander and Margaret Murray. Alexander,… Read More »

Irish, Charles Asa

According to his delayed birth record, Charles Asa Irish was born on 23 July 1900 in Coe Hill, Ontario. His father Charles Eldridge Irish was from the Brighton-Colborne area of Ontario while his mother Agnes Fortune Trotter was from Chandos or Clydesdale, small communities near Coe Hill. The couple married on 27 March 1893 in… Read More »

Carrie, Douglas

Douglas Carrie was born in Bolton, Lancashire, England on 18 April 1892.   He was baptized on 15 May 1892.   His parents were John Sobeski Stuart  Carrie and Eliza Ann Mann.   In 1901 the family was still in Bolton and three siblings are shown for Douglas – John age 21, Thomas age 18… Read More »

Philbin, Richard Thomas

Gunner Richard Thomas Philbin enlisted with the Canadian Field Artillery in March 1917 and served overseas for two years. He suffered gas poisoning at the Battle of Passchendaele but he survived the war and returned to Canada in May 1919. Richard was the only child of John Fairbairn Philbin and Margaret Hazlett of Rat Portage,… Read More »

Desilet, Joseph Octave

Joseph Octave Desilet was born on 23 July 1888 in St Theodore de Chertsy, Montcalm, Quebec, date confirmed by his baptism record. His father Israel Desilet was from Joliette in Quebec while his mother Marie Leontine Perrault was from St Theodore where the couple married on 27 July 1886. At the time of the marriage… Read More »

Sauerbrei, Mark

Mark Sauerbrei was born on 25 April 1896 in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain. His father John Sauerbrei was born in Bavaria, Germany (according to the 1901 England census record) and from an early age was involved in the hotel management business, starting his career in Belgium. Over the course of his life he managed… Read More »

Mahoney, James Robert

According to his attestation papers, James Robert Mahoney was born on 27 July 1887 in Melrose, New Brunswick. Originally known as Emigrant Road, in the 1820’s and 1830’s free land grants for farming were available in the area in the hope of attracting pioneer immigrants. As a result, the village of Ballynamuck, parish of Moragh… Read More »

Stephen, George Robert

George Robert Stephen was born on 20 October 1893 in Rat Portage (Kenora), Ontario. His parents were Alexander Stephen and Sarah Henrietta Fogg. Siblings included Henrietta ‘Etta’ (b. 1896), Joseph ‘Alex’ (b. 1899) and Emma Jean (b. 1900). George’s mother, Sarah, died in 1910. About this time George was sent to Saskatchewan to work on… Read More »