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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McKennitt, James Lloyd

Along with his twin brother Robert Russell McKennitt, James Lloyd McKennitt was born on 7 November 1895 in Holland Township, Grey, Ontario, date confirmed by their Ontario birth record. Both of his parents Robert James McKennitt, a farmer, and Eliza(beth) Jane Freeborn were from the area and had lost their first spouses to death. Robert… Read More »

Wreggit, Truman Albert

Private Truman Albert Wreggit was born in Barrie, Simcoe County, Ontario on 1 March 1891. His mother, Susannah Calvert, was unmarried and his birth was registered as Truman Albert Calvert. Susannah was married in Barrie in October 1895 to George Wreggit, a widowed farmer. George and Susannah had five children: Ethel May (1896), Carrie Elizabeth… Read More »

Williamson, Benjamin Paul

Private Benjamin Paul Williamson enlisted in December 1914 and served overseas for three and a half years, most of that time in France and Belgium with a trench mortar battery. He returned to Canada in March 1919. Benjamin was the son of Paul Williamson and Margaret Finlayson of Kenora, Ontario. Paul was born in Selkirk,… Read More »

Rowe, George

Acting Sergeant George Rowe enlisted in February 1916 and served overseas for three years. He was wounded in October 1916 at the Somme Offensive and returned to Canada in July 1919 with a war bride. George was the only son of George Charles Rowe and Elizabeth Veal of Fort William, Ontario. George Sr. was born… Read More »

McKenzie, Lawrence James

Birth date and location:  Lawrence James McKenzie was born on September 27,1896 in Kenora, Ontario, son of Andrew Dallas McKenzie and his wife, Sarah Jane Mitchell.  Andrew was born of United Empire Loyalist parentage in Orillia, Ontario in 1857. He  moved to Rat Portage (later known as Kenora) in 1888, working as a carpenter.  He… Read More »

Neving, Henry James

Private Henry James Neving enlisted in April 1917 at age 44. He served in England for nineteen months with the Canadian Forestry Corps and he was invalided back to Canada due to illness. Henry was born on 20 June 1872 in Owen Sound, Ontario. His parents, Thomas Neving, a shoemaker, and Susan Evans, were both… Read More »

Lusty, Thomas

Thomas, with the surname of Dalton, was born on 20 April 1894 in the Liverpool Workhouse in Liverpool, England. His mother was Catherine Canning who was born in 1859 in Liverpool. Catherine married William Gilray, a mariner, in November of 1877 in Liverpool. In February of 1880 she then married William Lawson, Catherine listed as… Read More »

Dentry, William John

Private William John Dentry enlisted early in the war and served overseas for four and a half years. He returned to Canada in May 1919 with a war bride. William was born on 13 April 1894 in Fulham, London, England, the oldest son of Albert Isaac Dentrey (Dentry) and Eliza Moore. Albert was also born… Read More »

Sinclair, Roy Frederick

Kenora’s David George Sinclair and his wife Eliza Ann Bock had four sons that served in WW1 – Leslie Foster John (born 1887), Levi Wilmot (born 1893), Roy Frederick (born 1895) and  Benjamin Elton  (born 1899).  The family arrived in Rat Portage (Kenora) in 1903 and settled north of town in the rural area of… Read More »

Harvey, Thomas Noel

Thomas Noel Harvey was born on 7 August 1899 at Fern Villas, Beddington Corner in Wallington in the registration district of Croydon, Surrey, England. His father Noel Augustine Harvey, a third generation floorcloth manufacturer, was from nearby Mitcham while his mother Elizabeth Margaret Hazell was from Wallington. The couple married on 13 March 1895 in… Read More »