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.

Curtis, Clarence William

Trooper Clarence William Curtis enlisted shortly after the war started and served in France with the Canadian Cavalry Brigade. He died of illness in England in July 1916 and his only brother died of wounds four months later. Clarence was the oldest son of Susan Tomlin and Charles William Curtis. Susan was born in 1876… Read More »

Margach, William

Private William Margach enlisted with a field ambulance unit in January 1917 in Edmonton, Alberta. He served overseas for two years and returned to Canada in March 1919. William was the son of William Innes Margach and Margaret Dunbar Hay of Edmonton, Alberta. His parents were both born in southern Ontario and they were married… Read More »

Saunders, Austin Lyman

Captain Austin Lyman Saunders of Winnipeg arrived in France in February 1916 with the 52nd Battalion. He was killed five months later when a large artillery shell landed on his dugout. Austin was the son of Edward Saunders and Agnes Jane Hay Porteous of Toronto, Ontario. Edward and Agnes were both born in Ontario, called… Read More »

Fogg, Frederick Joseph

According to his WW1 attestation papers, Frederick Joseph Fogg was born on 16 September 1896 in Kenora (called Rat Portage at the time), Ontario. A birth record was not found and when he enlisted in WW2 his year of birth was given as 1895. His parents were Samuel George Fogg and Eliza Jane Curless who… Read More »

Emerson, George Gordon

George Gordon Emerson was born on 29 November 1888 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), Ontario. His parents Robert Wellington Emerson and Catherine (Kate) Wilson Martin married on 3 March 1882 in the RM of St Andrews, Manitoba. Kate’s family had been farming just outside of Rat Portage and the newlyweds were to make Rat… Read More »

Kelly, William Albert

William Albert Kelly was born on 3 July 1898 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora) in northwestern Ontario. His father James Kelly was the son of Irish immigrants that had settled in the village of Brussels, Huron, Ontario. His mother Martha Mathieson was born in Admaston, a small community near Renfrew, Ontario. Martha was the… Read More »

Harkins, Alexander

Alexander Harkins was born on 8 July 1898 in Cloquet, Minnesota, USA. His father Joseph Patrick Harkins was from Quebec City and had moved to Keewatin in northwestern Ontario (near Kenora) to work in the lumbering/sawmill industry. His mother Sarah Stewart was from Walkerton, Ontario. The couple married in Keewatin in 1888 and gave birth… Read More »

Paul, John

Corporal John Paul enlisted with the 52nd Battalion and served in France and Belgium for almost three years. He was wounded at the Vimy front in April 1917 but he survived the war and returned to Canada in March 1919. John was born on 23 May 1896 in Victoria Harbour, Simcoe County, Ontario. His parents… Read More »

Brownlee, William Ferguson

Lieutenant William Ferguson Brownlee enlisted in the fall of 1915 and served in France with the Canadian Engineers. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in November 1918 and returned to Canada in August 1919. William was the son of James Brownlee and Margaret Hutton Rutherford. James was born in Hamilton, Ontario and started working for… Read More »

McCloy, Charles

Private Charles McCloy was born on 15 December 1891 in Medicine Hat, North-West Territories (now in Alberta). His parents, Alexander McCloy and Matilda Emma Jory, were both born in Ontario. They were married in Medicine Hat in 1891 and they had one other son, John, who was born in 1893 or 1894. By 1906 the… Read More »