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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Conn, John Alvin

Sapper John Alvin Conn was one of five brothers who served in the First World War. He enlisted in March 1917 and served in France with the Canadian Engineers, returning to Canada in March 1919. Alvin was the son of Robert Conn and Mary Ellen Curle of Vernon, British Columbia. Robert and Mary were both… Read More »

Hayward, James

James Hayward was born on 3 August 1887 in the Holloway area of London, England. His father George James Hayward was from Tidworth in Hampshire while his mother Sabina Hale was from Monchton in Wiltshire. The couple had married in 1887 in Islington, London with George listed as a widower on the marriage registration. Sabina,… Read More »

Mongrain, Frederick Alfred

Frederick Alfred (Fred) Mongrain was born on 3 October 1895 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), Ontario. His father Captain Alfred Mongrain was from Trois Rivieres, Quebec and had come to the area around 1877. His mother Marie Perrault was born in St Anne, Manitoba  and had moved to Rat Portage in the mid 1880’s…. Read More »

Blondin, Adam

According to his baptism record Adam Blondin was born on 8 March 1870 in the parish of St Alphonse, Allumettes Island in Quebec. He was the son of Francis Blondin and Marguerite Romain who had married in 1856 in LaPasse, Ontario. Other known children born to the family were Harriet (1858), Joseph (1860), Emily (1863),… Read More »

Bougie, Joseph

According to his attestation papers, Joseph Bougie was born on 6 September 1894 in Schreiber, Ontario. His parents were Jean Baptiste Bougie and Lea Marie Marcoux who had married on 26 April 1880 in Quebec City. By the 1901 Canada census the family was living in North Bay, Ontario where Jean (John) was working as… 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 »

Heath, George

Private George Heath was about 50 years old when he enlisted in August 1915. He served for 15 months in Canada and England before getting discharged due to being overage and medically unfit for war service. George was born in Portland, Leeds County, Ontario, the son of Ebenezer Heath, a cooper, and Maria Shaver. Ebenezer… Read More »

McLeod, William

William (Bill) McLeod was born on May 22nd 1898 in Rat Portage (now Kenora), Ontario. He was the 8th in a family line of Bill McLeod’s. His parents were merchant, William Allen McLeod and Mary Wilson. Siblings included Julie (b. 1892) and John (b. 1900). Mary McLeod died in 1904 and William Sr. married Edith… Read More »

Turner, John Edward

Birth: John Edward Turner was born in Woodbridge, County of York in Ontario on November 13, 1892.  His parents were William Edward Turner (born November 1864, Ontario) and Esther Emily McBride (born October 1865, Ontario). Early Life:  In the 1901 Canadian census, the family was living in Stayner, Ontario in the District of Simcoe, and… Read More »

Dodds, Francis Wilfred Ferguson

Sergeant Francis Wilfred Ferguson Dodds enlisted with the 12th Field Ambulance in March 1916 and served overseas for three years. He returned to Canada in June 1919 and was awarded the Military Medal. Wilfred was the oldest son of James Dodds and Margaret Jane Ferguson of Winnipeg, Manitoba. James was born in the Oshawa area… Read More »