Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthJanuary 10, 1885
Place of BirthArdelach, Nairn
CountryScotland
Marital StatusMarried
Next of KinCatherine Grant, Wife, Kenora, Ontario
Trade / CallingFlour Packer
ReligionPresbyterian
Service Details
Regimental Number820926
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion141st Battalion
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Address at EnlistmentKenora, Ontario
Date of EnlistmentJuly 22, 1916
Age at Enlistment31
Theatre of ServiceCanada
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathJuly 1, 1963
Age at Death78
Buried AtLake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario
Plot8E-5-4

Grant, Thomas

Born on January 10, 1885 in Ardelach, Nairn in Scotland, Thomas Grant, the son of Charles Grant and Annie Roberts, immigrated from Scotland in 1907 to Kenora, Ontario, Canada. He met Catherine (Kate) Duncan and they were married by license in the town of Kenora on April 11, 1911.

Thomas was a flour packer at the Lake of the Woods Milling Company in Keewatin when he signed up with the 141st Overseas Battalion in Kenora on July 22, 1916. He was a Presbyterian, 31 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall and a married man with no prior military experience. Thomas and his wife Catherine had three very young children (Arthur, Kathleen and Alexander) at the time he enlisted.

The local unit of the 141st Battalion was given the nickname of ‘Bull Moose’. They departed from the train station in Kenora on July 2, 1916 heading first to Port Arthur on the way to the front. The mood by this time had changed and it was almost two years since the first contingent had departed. A great crowd turned out to see their loved ones off. With the recent successes by the British and Allied forces the mood had changed to confidence. Although the men were going away on serious business they would be taking part in the final victory. Thomas Grant was one of the men who departed on July 2, 1916. However, due to having flat feet and being unable to drill, a medical board in Port Arthur found Thomas unfit for service and he was discharged on December 6, 1916.

Thomas returned to Keewatin and his job at the flour mill. Thomas and Kate had five more children – Harry, George, Stanley (Bud), Bessie and Jean.They lived on 6th Street in Keewatin and Thomas stayed with the local flour mill until his retirement.

Thomas Grant passed away on July 1, 1963 and he was laid to rest three days later in the Peaceful Hollow block of Lake of the Woods Cemetery in the town of Kenora, Ontario. His wife Catherine died in April 1977 and she is buried beside him.

By Linda Pelletier

141st-1916-08-02 Grant-Thomas-97 Grant-Thomas-96 Grant-Thomas-95


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