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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Lalonde, Leo James

Private Leo James Lalonde enlisted in April 1916 and served with the Canadians Corps for over two years. For much of that time he was a front line soldier but he suffered from health problems and he spent several months in hospitals in England and France. He died of illness in November 1918, a week… Read More »

Barnhardt, Nathan Nicholas

Early History, Parents and Siblings:    Nathan’s only known connection to Kenora was that he was born there on April 14, 1898 to  Simeon and Margaret Barnhardt. His parents had only recently moved from Southern Ontario around 1896.  Although the ancestral background of the Barnhardts was German, Nathan, who was at least a fourth generation… Read More »

Bray, Sidney Joseph

Gunner Sidney Joseph Bray joined the Canadian Field Artillery in November 1914 and served for almost four years in Canada, England, France and Belgium. He was seriously wounded in September 1918 and he spent a year recovering in hospitals. Sidney was the oldest child of John Joseph Bray and Mary Ann Southam Shelbourne of Peterborough,… Read More »

Van Norman, Harry Hinds

Lieutenant Harry Hinds Van Norman, MC, enlisted in January 1915 and served overseas for three and a half years. He was promoted from Private to Sergeant in October 1915 and commissioned as a Lieutenant in April 1917. He earned a Military Cross in the last weeks of the war. Harry was the oldest son of… Read More »

Clarkson, John Gordon

Lance Sergeant John Gordon Clarkson enlisted in November 1915 and served overseas with the 116th Battalion. He was seriously wounded in the last months of the war and he returned to Canada in May 1919 to continue his convalescence. Gordon was born on 31 March 1891 in Rat Portage, Ontario, the youngest son of James… Read More »

Elders, Arthur

During the First World War Canada sent more than 400,000 troops overseas and almost 150,000 of them were wounded. Among the casualties was Private Arthur Elders who was wounded twice, in March 1917 and more seriously in May 1918. Private Elders survived the war and returned to Canada in 1919. Arthur was the oldest son… Read More »

McLain, Percy

The name of Percy McLain appeared in the Kenora Miner and News edition of 26 December 1914, listing new recruits that had recently signed up in the area. Percy’s name nor service could be verified.  

Dougherty, John Joseph

Private John Joseph Dougherty enlisted in July 1916 and arrived in France a year later. He was killed in September 1918 by a large bomb dropped from a German airplane. According to his service record John was born on 16 May 1887 in Bradford, Ontario, a small village about 50 km north of Toronto. When… Read More »

McCullagh, Thomas

Thomas was the son of Andrew McCullagh and Mary Anne Boyd of Killybegs, Ireland. His siblings were (older) Margaret, Bella, John, Bessie, Andrew (Jr) and (younger) Susan, Jane and James. Thomas’ birth year may not be correct on his attestation papers; it may have been 1881 or 1882.  Also in WW1 was his brother, James… Read More »

Stratton, Walter Arthur

Walter Arthur Stratton was born on 24 July 1894, the son of Richard Stratton and Jennie Eyoutt. His birth was registered in the town of Rat Portage (now called Kenora), in northwestern Ontario. Another son, Roy Calvin Joseph, followed in 1896 and a daughter, Ella, was born in the Dryden area in 1900. When the… Read More »