Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthJuly 15, 1886
Place of BirthTyndall, Manitoba
CountryCanada
Marital StatusMarried
Next of KinHarriet Tetroe (wife), West Selkirk, Manitoba
Trade / CallingEngineer
ReligionRoman Catholic
Service Details
Regimental Number722079
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion108th Battalion
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Address at EnlistmentWest Selkirk, Manitoba
Date of EnlistmentMarch 5, 1916
Age at Enlistment29
Theatre of ServiceEurope
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathApril 22, 1972
Age at Death85
Buried AtLake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario
PlotRC A-5-14

Tetroe, Joseph James

Birth date and location:    Joseph James Tetroe was born in Tyndall, Manitoba, on July 18, 1886.  His parents were Joseph  (born about 1845, U.S.A.) and Josephine Tetroe (born in the U.S.A. December 28, 1859).

Early life:    Throughout the  1901, 1906 and 1911  Canadian Census  Lists, Joseph, Josephine and their children were living  in Townships 12, 13, Ranges 4, 5, 6, East of the Red River, District of Selkirk, Manitoba.  The father was a labourer.

‘Joe’s’ siblings included:    Edward (born 1880); Joseph G. (born and died 1894); Elaine (born 1888);  John ‘Homer’ (born 1890 and died 1928); Frank (born about 1892): Emma (born about 1894); and Margaret Emily (born 1904 and died 1974). Joseph Senior died in 1911 sometime after the census.

Joe and and his wife, Harriett, began having their family in 1906; and, by this time , he was working in Tyndall as a steam shovel operator.  In the 1916 Census, Joe and Harriett are living at 403  McLean Avenue, West Selkirk, Manitoba.  Five children are listed:  Henry Joseph (1907 – 1976);  Stella Victoria (b. 1909); Violet May (b. 1911); Ester Lemay (1914 – 1922); and Alfred (born 1916).  This differs from the list of children  Joe has on his enlistment papers: a son, Wilfred, born 1908    and a daughter, Harriet, born 1914 also appear on the enlistment papers.  Ester and Alfred are not on the enlistment papers list.

War experience:    Joe enlisted with the 108th Battalion on March 3, 1916 in Selkirk, Manitoba.  His wife, Harriett was his next of kin and she and their children were living in West Selkirk.

Private Joseph Tetroe arrived in England on September 16, 1916, however, three months later, he received an injury in his left knee, causing him to have pain and an inability to stand.  He was initially admitted to Ravenscroft Hospital in Seaford on December 30, 1916 and was diagnosed with Traumatic Synovitis – a severe sprain in his knee that also affected his left foot. He was transferred on January 23, 1917 to the Canadian Military Hospital in Eastbourne and was discharged from there on February 7, 1917.  Following this, he was transferred to the 14th Reserve Battalion in Dibgate.  Although he returned to the field, this condition affected Joe for the remainder of his time in service.  Joe was taken on strength by the Canadian Army Service Corps – Motor Transport. He served in France from 05 April 1918 to 19 May 1919.

In June of 1919, Joe returned to Canada on the S.S. Royal George, sailing out of Liverpool.  He was honourably discharged on June 20, 1919 in Toronto, Ontario, having served in Canada, Britain, France, and possibly Germany. He was awarded the War Service Badge Class A #224055, British War Medal, Victory Medal and Good Conduct Medal.

Joe’s brother, Homer, also served in World War 1; however it is not known at this time, in  what unit he served.

Life after the war:    It appears Joe returned to Selkirk following the war and continued working as a steam shovel operator.  He and Harriett, and, perhaps, some of the children, moved to the Kenora area in 1930 where he joined the Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League-Keewatin Branch #13. He and his family were Catholic and Joe was an adherent to Notre Dame Roman Catholic Church in Kenora.  It is important to note that Joe’s wife’s first name was not found in records again, until his obituary where her name was given as Janet.  It is not known if Harriett died and Joe remarried, or, if Harriett began to go by the name Janet.  Further research or contact with Joe’s family may be helpful to determine the correct name.

In the 1945 Ontario Voters List, Joe and Harriett were living in Norman.  Joe was working as a hoistman. In the  1949 and 1953 Voters lists, they still lived in Norman.  In 1949, Joe was a truck driver; however, by 1953, he had retired and was now recorded as a Gentleman.  Joe and Harriet were also  in the 1957, 1962, 1963 and 1965 Voters Lists but were now living in Keewatin. Joe continued to be recorded as a Gentleman.  On December 17, 1969,  at the age of 83, he moved into Pinecrest Home for the Aged in Kenora.

Date of death and burial location:  Joe died April 22, 1972 at Pinecrest and is buried in the Roman Catholic Block of the Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora. He was survived by his wife, Janet (aka Harriett?); son, Henry; and, daughter, Stella.

By Susan (Hillman) Brazeau in support of the Kenora Great War Project – honouring all who served, remembering those who died

SOURCES:

Library and Archives Canada: Service Record
1901 Canada Census
1906 Manitoba Saskatchewan and Alberta Census
1911 Canada Census
1916 Canada Census
Royal Canadian Legion: Keewatin Branch
Canada Voters List: Ontario, 1945, 1949, 1953, 1962, 1963 1965
Kenora Daily Miner and News: Obituary 1972
Lake of the Woods Cemetery
Northern Ontario Gravemarkers Gallery

Tetroe-Joseph-James-3


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