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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Newell, Edwin Robert

Edwin Robert (Ted) Newell was born on 21 October 1888 in Keewatin, Ontario, date and place confirmed by his Ontario birth record. His father Edwin Newell was from England while his mother Jane Donnelly was from Ontario. It appears that the couple first lived in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba before moving to northwestern Ontario. The… Read More »

Wilson, William Alexander

William Alexander Wilson was born on 16 December 1900 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora) in northwestern Ontario. His father William Alexander Wilson was from the St Catharine’s area in Ontario while it appears that his mother Lillian Hayzy (aka Hill) was from Poland. The couple married on 16 March 1904 in Winnipeg. Moving to… Read More »

Pawluk, Michael

According to his later obituary, Michael Pawluk was born on 21 November 1893 in Tarnowitz, Poland. At some point he immigrated to Canada and settled in northwestern Ontario. On 28 June 1936, in Kenora, he married widow Sophie (née Glochowski) Sabadoz, Michael listed as a widower on the marriage document. Over the years he was… Read More »

Cromwell, Louis Leo

Private Louis Leo Cromwell enlisted in May 1915 and served overseas for three years. He suffered from gas poisoning and illness but he survived the war and returned to Canada in December 1918. Louis was the son of William Wellington Cromwell and Annie Ellena Hopf of Keewatin, Ontario. William was a cooper like his father… Read More »

Wilcox, Sydney Charles

Sydney Charles Wilcox was born on 26 July 1883 in Windsor, Hants, Nova Scotia. His father Charles Smith Wilcox was from Windsor while his mother Emma Gertrude Thom was from Quebec City where the couple married in 1880. Returning to Windsor, Charles and his brother George were both hardware merchants. Children born to the family… Read More »

Peterman, William Albert

Private William Albert Peterman was married and the father of four daughters when he enlisted in January 1915. He served overseas for three years, most of that time with the 27th (City of Winnipeg) Battalion. William was the oldest son of William and Mary Peterman of East Gwillimbury, North York, Ontario. He was born on… Read More »

Chapman, William James

William James Chapman was born on 01 November 1864 in Belfast, Ireland. He was the oldest son of Benjamin Chapman and Maria Chew. In 1866 the Chapman family immigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto where Benjamin practiced his trade of watchmaker and jeweler. Other children in the family were Elizabeth, Charles, Julia, Edward and… Read More »

Cromwell, Frank Wellington

Gunner Frank Wellington Cromwell enlisted in March 1917 and served for more than two years in England, France, Belgium and North Russia. He survived the war and returned home to Canada in July 1919. Frank was the son of William Wellington Cromwell and Annie Ellena Hopf of Keewatin, Ontario. William was a cooper like his… Read More »

MacWilliam, Hector Charles

Hector Charles MacWilliam was born on 23 August 1885 in the area of Eldon/Belfast in Queens County on Prince Edward Island where his family farmed. Spellings of the surname on various records include MacWilliam, MacWilliams, McWilliam, and McWilliams. Hector’s parents were Hugh MacWilliam and Flora MacMillan who had married around 1874. Children born to the… Read More »

Biers, William James

Private William James Biers was called up in January 1918 and sent overseas seven months later. He served in Great Britain for a year, returning to Canada in August 1919. Willilam James, usually known as James, was the son of William Biers and Maria Hughes of Dunfermline, Saskatchewan. William and Maria were both born in… Read More »