Kenora Great War Project

 

You can also view an Alphabetical List

The People

soldier_photobar

These are the stories of Kenora participants in the First World War.

Search by name, or filter the search results using the list of options below.

Tellingham, William

In an article published in the Kenora Miner and News on 19 December 1914, the name of William Tellingham appeared on the list of recent recruits for the third contingent. His identity nor service could be confirmed.  

Morris, John William

Gunner John William Morris was a married teacher with his first baby on the way when he enlisted in April 1916. He served in Great Britain, France and Belgium for two and a half years, returning to Canada in January 1919. John was the oldest son of John William Morris (Sr.) and Sabina Thickett of… Read More »

Rowbottom, Charles Frederick

Private Charles ‘Ted’ Rowbottom was living in Kenora, Ontario with his wife and two young children when the war started. He enlisted four months later and served overseas until July 1916, when he was wounded for the second time. His health deteriorated over the next few years and he died in England in July 1919…. Read More »

Whitehurst, Clifford Gerald

Clifford Gerald (Gerry) Whitehurst was born on 25 March 1898 in Fort William, Ontario. His father John (Jack) Whitehurst was from Birmingham, England and had immigrated to Canada in 1888 to work for the Canadian Pacific Railway as a wiper. Lodging in those early years at the Queen’s Hotel in the Westport area of Fort… Read More »

Rodger, John Cousland

John Cousland Rodger was born on 26 July 1896 in the Dennistoun area of Glasgow, Scotland. His father John Rodger was from Holytown, Lanarkshire while his mother Cecilia Jenkins Cousland was from Glasgow. Although both were living in Glasgow at the time, the couple married on 4 October 1892 in Perth. John Sr, listed as… Read More »

Comeau, Louis Philippe

  Corporal Louis Philippe Comeau enlisted in June 1915, at age 16, and served in France and Belgium with the Canadian Field Artillery. He was wounded at the Somme but he survived the war and returned home in May 1919. Louis was the only son of Paul Comeau/Comeault and Cecile Virginie Beaubien of Winnipeg, Manitoba…. Read More »

Esselmont, John Wesley

Private John Wesley Esselmont enlisted in Vancouver in September 1915, at age 20. He was wounded at the Battle of Passchendaele in November 1917 and spent the remainder of the war in Great Britain. John was born on 30 May 1895 in Fort William, Ontario. His father, James Esselmont, had immigrated to Canada from the… Read More »

Kinney, James Arthur

Although a birth record was not found, by most accounts James Arthur Kinney was born in 1877 on Manitoulin Island, Algoma, Ontario. Both of his parents James Kinney and Malina Johnson were from Prince Edward County in Ontario, the couple marrying on 11 February 1863 in Athol. At the time of the 1871 census the… Read More »

Anderson, Charles

Private Charles Anderson signed up with the 94th Battalion in Kenora, Ontario in February 1916. He served for two years in Canada and the UK and returned home in March 1918. Charles, or Charley, was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and immigrated to Canada as a young man. By the time he enlisted, on 22 February… Read More »

Fife, Ashton Thomas

Ashton Thomas Fife was born on 6 January 1871 in Hastings, Peterborough  County, Ontario. His father Doctor Joseph Alexander Fife was the son of Scottish immigrants Thomas and Janet (née Becket) Fife. Thomas Fife  had arrived in Canada  in 1820 with his parents and siblings, settling in Otonabee as true pioneers. Thomas married Janet, cleared… Read More »