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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Reid, Francis William (Frank)

Francis William (Frank) Reid was born on 12 August 1888 in Saint John, New Brunswick. His parents Charles Francis Reid and Mary Elizabeth Savage were both born in New Brunswick, marrying on 1 November 1887 in Newcastle. At some point after Frank’s birth the family moved to Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora) in northwestern Ontario… Read More »

Nuson, Robert Thomas

For most of the war regulations required soldiers to be at least 19 years old before they served in front line units but thousands of young Canadians enlisted underage, and many of them were killed in action or died of wounds. Private Robert Thomas Nuson enlisted just after he turned 17 and he was killed… Read More »

Wright, William Alexander

William Alexander Wright was born on 16 January 1898 in the village of Norman a few kilometres west of Kenora in northwestern Ontario. His parents William Hamilton Wright and Annie Thompson were both from the Campbellton area in New Brunswick, marrying in November of 1882 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora.) While in Norman William… Read More »

Thompson, Arthur Bohn

Lance Corporal Arthur Bohn Thompson was the son of Benjamin Franklin ‘Frank’ Thompson and Augusta Bohn. He was born on 22 February 1887 in the town of Rat Portage in northwestern Ontario. He had an older sister Sarah (Sadie) and two younger brothers, John (1888) and William Stanley (1890). All three boys were born in… Read More »

Young, Thomas Malcolm

Thomas Malcolm Young was the youngest son of  William Thomas and May Young of 9545 – 106th Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta. Thomas was born October 16, 1896 in Rat Portage, now known as Kenora, Ontario. His parents William and May (née Simmons) were married in Rat Portage in 1891 and he had two older brothers, William… Read More »

Harwood, Frederick

Sergeant Frederick Harwood enlisted with the Canadian Army Service Corps in February 1916 and served in France and Belgium for three years. He returned to Canada in July 1919. Fred was the only son of William Harwood and Sarah Harlow of Boston, Lincolnshire, England. William was a butcher and he and his wife were both… Read More »

Butt, Edwin Frederick

Private Edwin Frederick Butt was called up in February 1918, at age 20. He served in France and Belgium for six months with the 52nd (New Ontario) Battalion. Edwin was the son of William Butt and Eleanor Kate Pearce of Kenora, Ontario. He was born in Rat Portage (later called Kenora) on 6 July 1897… Read More »

Letain, Jules Vital

Private Jules Vital Letain was the son of Jean Baptiste Letain and Felicité Eugénie Husson of Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba. Jean Baptiste and Eugénie were both born in Belgium. They were married in 1888 and their first two children were born in Belgium, daughters Eugénie, who died as an infant, and Marie. Jean Baptiste, his… Read More »

Miller, Jacob William

Private (Acting Corporal) Jacob William Miller was born in Minnesota and living in northwestern Ontario when the war started. He enlisted in Kenora on 26 December 1914, when volunteers were being raised for a third overseas contingent. He was 37 years old at the time and working as a traction engineer. He gave his date… Read More »

Trick, James Melville

According to his attestation papers, James Melville Trick was born on 27 March 1897 in Kenora, Ontario (called Rat Portage at the time). He was the adopted son of William Trick and Nellie Jane Ferguson, his birth father from Quebec and birth mother from Ontario. William was born in England while Nellie was from Wales… Read More »