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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Kendall, Ivan Lucas

Ivan Lucas Kendall was born on 9 May 1890 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), in northwestern Ontario. His father William Glanfield Kendall was from Rettendon, Essex, England. At age twenty-three William had immigrated to Canada, first living in Stratford, Ontario where he worked for the Grand Trunk Railway before moving to Winnipeg in 1882… Read More »

McCowan, Archibald Porteous

Archibald Porteous (Archie) McCowan was born on 23 January 1898 in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. His father James Archibald McCowan, born in 1850, was from Scarborough, Ontario. He had married his first wife Isabelle Bowes, a Scottish immigrant, in 1875 in Pickering although the couple were to make Scarborough/Toronto their home. Together James and Isabelle… Read More »

Jones, William Wyndham

William Jones was among the first Kenora volunteers. His name was published on Aug. 12, 1914 as having enlisted in the 98th Regiment following a call for volunteers on Aug. 9. Born in Wales to Thomas and Hannah Jones, both he and his brother Thomas immigrated to Canada in May 1913 and worked at the… Read More »

Dinnel, William

According to his attestation papers William John Dinnel was born 10 August 1884 in Newton Stewart, Ayrshire, Scotland.   His obituary lists his birthdate as 05 August 1883.   His parents were William Dinnel (gardener) and Agnes Campbell.   At age 25, on 26 December 1908, William married Sarah Jane Young in Glasgow, Scotland.  … Read More »

Myles, Edward Andrew

Edward Andrew Myles was the fourth of six children born to Leith Myles and Mary Rathwell in Sudbury, Ontario on 22 December 1894. The family moved to Rat Portage (Kenora), Ontario in 1898. Edward, known as ‘Pat’ to his family and friends, received his education in Kenora. He joined the CPR in 1912 and worked… 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 »

Smith, Garfield

Garfield Smith was born on 30 August 1885 at Gypsum Mines, South Cayuga, Halimand, Ontario. His parents William Smith, the son of German immigrants, and Emeline Matilda Armstrong were both living in the Township of North Cayuga, Ontario at the time of their marriage on 11 May 1870 in Dunnville. Over the years the family… Read More »

McManaman, James

James McManaman was born on 28 September 1884 in the township of Melancthon, Ontario. His parents Thomas McManaman and Julia Connors were both born in Ireland, immigrating to Canada with their parents to settle with a number of Irish families in the Melancthon area to farm. Thomas and Julia married on 30 January 1872 in… Read More »

Alcock, William Henry

William Henry (Billy) Alcock was born on 25 October 1898 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), Ontario. His parents were George and Emma (née Barker) Alcock who had married on 1 January 1883 in Faraday, Hastings, Ontario. After the 1891 Canada census the family had moved to Saskatchewan but by the 1901 Canada census they… Read More »

Gourevitch, Simon

Private Simon Gourevitch enlisted in August 1914 and served with the 8th Battalion (Royal Winnipeg Rifles). He survived four years of war and returned to Canada in the spring of 1919. According to his attestation Simon was born on 16 May 1885 in Smolensk, Russia, a city in the western part of the country near… Read More »