Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthSeptember 12, 1896
Place of BirthTännäs
CountrySweden
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinJohn Green, father, Ostersund, Ontario
Trade / CallingLabourer
ReligionLutheran
Service Details
Regimental Number913317
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion197th Battalion
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Address at EnlistmentOstersund, Ontario
Date of EnlistmentApril 13, 1916
Age at Enlistment19
Theatre of ServiceCanada
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathNovember 3, 1973
Age at Death77
Buried AtLake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario
PlotEC 39E

Green, Oscar John

Oscar John Green was born in Tännäs, Sweden on September 12, 1896. He was the son of John  Green and Gertrude (Olson) Green. Gertrude was previously married and she had a daughter, Kristina Ronsberg. With John she had seven more children: Olaf/Ole, Axel, Gustave/Gustaf, Oscar, Magnus, Edward and Mary. The family immigrated to Canada in 1905-1906.  They settled in Ostersund, Pellatt township near Keewatin, Ontario where John  took up farming.   Many of their neighbours were of Scandinavian heritage and attended the Lutheran church.

By 1911 the three oldest boys were all working at a local saw mill and helping on the farm. When Oscar enlisted on April 13, 1916 he was 19 years old and gave his occupation as labourer. His brother Gustave signed up with the same battalion on the same day and they were given consecutive regimental numbers. Oscar was discharged on November 19, 1916 as a deserter. Gustave served overseas with the Canadian Foresty Corps and returned to Canada in February 1919. Their brother Axel was called up in February 1918 and he served in France with the 52nd Battalion.

Oscar married Mary Elizabeth Savard, the daughter of Garry and Elizabeth (Fraser) Savard, in Kenora on September 15, 1923. They had three children: Oscar (Jr), Harry and Roy. They made their home at 41 Kay Street in Norman which is the west section of the town of Kenora. Many of the families in Norman were Scandinavian or French.  Although Mary was born in Port Arthur her father was born in France, so it was likely that she could understand and speak the French language. Oscar worked as an elevator man at the Lake of the Woods Flour Mill in Keewatin, a neighbouring town. He was an adherent of Bethesda Lutheran Church and a lifetime member of Keewatin Legion Branch #13. His son Harry served with the Canadian forces during the Second World War.

Oscar died suddenly at the Lake of the Woods Hospital in Kenora on November 3, 1973, at age 77.  He was predeceased by his son J. Oscar Jr. (1924-1968).  Surviving him were his wife Mary and his sons Harry and Roy.  One brother, Magnus of Kenora, and one sister, Mary (Mrs. William Potts) in Vancouver, British Columbia, also survived.  Oscar left  13 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren  to cherish his memory.

Oscar was laid to rest in Elmwood Circle Block at Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora.  Mary was interred beside her husband in 1992. Oscar’s mother Gertrude died  of tuberculosis in October 1912, at the young age of 48, and his father John died in August 1936, at age 70. Both are buried in the Lake of the Woods Cemetery.


« Back To Soldier Biographies