Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthOctober 6, 1895
Place of BirthRat Portage (Kenora), Ontario
CountryCanada
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinGeorge Genge (father), Mair P.O., Saskatchewan
Trade / CallingFarmer
ReligionMethodist
Service Details
Regimental Number3354803
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion1st Depot Battalion, Saskatchewan Regiment
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedConscripted
Address at EnlistmentMair P.O., Saskatchewan
Date of EnlistmentJuly 9, 1918
Age at Enlistment22
Theatre of ServiceCanada
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathNovember 6, 1959
Age at Death64
Buried AtPaddockwood Cemetery, Paddockwood, Saskatchewan

Genge, Horace John

Private Horace John Genge was born on 6 October 1895 in Rat Portage, Ontario. His father, George Alexander Genge, was born Syracuse, New York and his mother, Isabella Jane Jobb, in Wingham, Ontario. George and Isabella were married in Brandon, Manitoba in 1891. Their first two children were born in Brandon: Thomas (1892) and Mary Jean (1893).   By early 1895 they had moved to Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora). Sadly, Thomas died there on 15 March 1895, at age two, and he’s buried in Lake of the Woods Cemetery. Horace was born that fall and he was followed by his sister Olive Belle in 1898. The family returned to Manitoba a short time later and when the 1901 census was taken they were farming in the RM of North Norfolk, just east of Brandon. Three more children were born in Manitoba: Henry (Harry) William (1899), Bernice Maud (1901) and Nelson Syms (1904).

Around 1905 Horace’s family moved to Saskatchewan and homesteaded near the village of Mair in the southeastern corner of the province. The first local school opened in July 1907 and over the next few years all of the Genge children attended it. Horace was one of the first pupils and he also played baseball for the Mair ball team. The youngest daughter, Harriet Evelyn, was born in 1908 and the family continued to farm near Mair for about ten more years.

Conscription started in Canada in 1917 and Horace registered as required that fall. He had his medical in Estevan on 16 November 1917 and he was found fit for service. He was called up in Regina the following summer, on 9 July 1918, and assigned to the 1st Depot Battalion, Saskatchewan Regiment. He was a farmer, his address was Mair and next of kin was his father. He was given harvest leave from 17 August to 15 November. He served for another three months and he was demobilized on 14 February 1919 in Regina.

Around 1918 Horace’s parents had moved to the area of Paddockwood, north of the town of Prince Albert in Saskatchewan. Horace, his two brothers and his father all took out homestead claims north of Paddockwood and they all farmed. The boys were also very active on local baseball and curling teams. The two oldest girls, Jean and Olive, became teachers. Olive was married in Vancouver in July 1921 to Robert William Turley. Robert was born in Brandon, Manitoba and he had served during the war with the same unit as Horace, the 1st Depot Battalion, Saskatchewan Regiment.

Horace lived in the Paddockwood area for the rest of his life. He enlisted again during the Second World War and served in Canada from June 1941 to June 1944 (reg. no. R107246). His brother Harry also served during the Second World War. When Horace applied for his war veteran’s allowance in the 1950s he said he was single. He passed away on 6 November 1959, at age 64. His father had predeceased him in 1936, his mother died in 1960 and his brother Harry in 1982. Along with Horace they are all buried in Paddockwood Cemetery. Nelson died in 1981 and he’s buried in Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal. Olive (Mrs. Robert Turley) passed away in Vancouver in 1986.

By Becky Johnson

Genge-Horace-John-90 Genge-Horace-John-91 Genge-Horace-John-92 Genge-Horace-John-93

Photos and some information are from: ‘Across Border and Valley: the Story of Maryfield & Fairlight & Surrounding Districts, Volume 1″ (Maryfield, Saskatchewan, 1984), and, ‘Cordwood and Courage: 1911-1982, Paddockwood, etc.’ (Paddockwood, Saskatchewan, 1982).

 


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