Personal Details | |
Date of Birth | November 30, 1877 |
Place of Birth | Girvan, Ayrshire |
Country | Scotland |
Marital Status | Married |
Next of Kin | William McKie (father), Keewatin, Ontario |
Trade / Calling | Teamster |
Religion | Presbyterian |
Service Details | |
Regimental Number | 439067 |
Service Record | Link to Service Record |
Battalion | 52nd Battalion |
Force | Canadian Expeditionary Force |
Branch | Canadian Infantry |
Enlisted / Conscripted | Enlisted |
Address at Enlistment | Keewatin, Ontario |
Date of Enlistment | December 29, 1914 |
Age at Enlistment | 37 |
Theatre of Service | Europe |
Prisoner of War | No |
Survived War | Yes |
Death Details | |
Date of Death | February 9, 1956 |
Age at Death | 78 |
Buried At | Lake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario |
Plot | 28E-20-3 |
Born 30 November 1877, William Anderson McKie was the second child of nine born to William McKie and Agnes Hill of Girvan, Scotland. His parents were married in December 1875 in Girvan, Ayrshire, a coastal village in southwestern Scotland. He had an older brother, James. William’s younger siblings were Samuel, Mary, John, Alexander, David, Elizabeth and Allan. After the first three children were born, the family moved to the nearby town of Maybole, Scotland. His brothers, James, Samuel, and David, and his mother had all died by 1908.
On June 8, 1900 William Anderson McKie married Agnes Gordon in Maybole, Ayrshire, Scotland. Their first three children, Agnes (1900), William (1902) and Mary (1904) were born there. Their baby Agnes died in 1901.
William (Jr.) immigrated with his wife and two children leaving from Glasgow, Scotland. They boarded the ship Corinthian in April 1907 and disembarked in Montreal, traveling by train directly to Keewatin, Ontario. Here William worked as a blacksmith. Five more children were born after moving from Maybole to Keewatin.
William enlisted in Kenora with the 52nd Battalion in December 29, 1914, occupation given as teamster. Five feet, six inches tall with brown eyes and black hair, he was 37 years old.
He was sent to France in the fall of 1915 and survived three years of war, returning to Canada in July 1919. He became a Sapper during his time overseas which was equivalent to a Private. Sappers also had the dangerous job of building the zigzag trenches while being targets for the enemy.
William’s brother Allan Paton McKie was also in the 52nd Battalion; he died of wounds June 5, 1916 in the Battle of Mount Sorrel. Allan is buried in the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Belgium. Another brother, Alexander, served with the British Army Service Corps, 2nd Water Tank Company. Alexander was killed in action on 25 October 1917 and is buried in Aeroplane Cemetery near Ypres, Belgium. By the time war was declared his father had married for the second time to Annie Kennedy and they were also living in Keewatin. Father William and Annie returned to Maybole, Scotland after the war. William (Sr.) passed away in Maypole in 1921. A family stone is in the Maybole Cemetery.
When William Anderson McKie returned home to Keewatin after the war he went to work for the Lake of the Woods Flour Mill in the elevator. Later William was employed with Bentz Brewery in Kenora. Then he moved on to work as an inspector for the Liquor Control Board. William retired in 1948.
William Anderson McKie passed away February 9, 1956 at the Kenora General Hospital.
When he died, he had four sons: William, David, Gordon, Allan and two daughters, Mary (Polly) and Catherine. They also had another daughter Annie who had passed away earlier in Keewatin plus his baby daughter Agnes who had died in Scotland before immigrating. Agnes, his wife, lived until April 7, 1964 and passed away in Keewatin.
Both William Anderson McKie and Agnes are buried in the local Lake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario.
By Linda Pelletier
Veteran death card courtesy of Library and Archives Canada.