Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthAugust 3, 1883
Place of BirthBrightling, Sussex
CountryEngland
Marital StatusMarried
Next of KinMrs Priscilla Winchester, wife, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Trade / CallingDecorator
ReligionChurch of England
Service Details
Regimental Number700731
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion43rd Battalion
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Address at Enlistment443 Rosedale Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Date of EnlistmentJanuary 11, 1916
Age at Enlistment32
Theatre of ServiceEurope
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathAugust 27, 1963
Age at Death80
Buried AtChapel Lawn Memorial Gardens, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Winchester, Albert

Albert Winchester was born on 3 August 1883 in Brightling, Sussex, England. His father David Winchester was from Brightling while his mother Ellen Prevett was from Worth in Sussex. The couple had married in early 1878 in Brightling. David was a carpenter by trade and in latter years was listed as an estate carpenter on censuses. Albert had three older siblings, Fanny Susan (b 1878), James (b 1880), and Nellie (b 1882) and a younger brother and sister, Harry (b 1885), and May (b 1890).

Albert was found on the passenger list of the Empress of Britain that arrived in Quebec on 13 May 1906. His occupation was given as decorator and his destination as Winnipeg. On 6 May 1910 Albert married Lily Elizabeth Smith in Winnipeg. Born in 1876 in Ore, Sussex in England, Lily was the daughter of Edwin and Mary Ann Smith. She had immigrated to Canada in 1908 to work as a governess for a family in Ontario. For the 1911 Canada census Albert and Lily were living on Rosedale Avenue in Winnipeg. Lily’s mother and brother William were also living in the house, having arrived earlier that year.

Albert and Lily gave birth to a daughter they named Constance on 1 August 1913 in Winnipeg. Sadly Lily died 5 days later. The following August Albert married Priscilla Popkin in Winnipeg. Priscilla, daughter of Alfred and Mary Ann Popkin, was born in 1878 in Bromley, London. Along with her sister Ada she had immigrated to Canada in 1910. Albert and Priscilla gave birth to a daughter, Ethel Priscilla (Betty), in July of 1916.

Albert signed his attestation papers in Winnipeg on 11 January 1916. His occupation was given as decorator and his wife Priscilla as next of kin. He listed previous military experience with the 196th Regiment. The 101st Battalion had been organized in Winnipeg in November of 1915 with training taking place throughout the winter and spring of 1916 before moving to Camp Hughes in May. The battalion embarked from Halifax aboard the Olympic on the 29th of June. On board was Lance Corporal Albert Winchester.

Once in England the battalion was absorbed by the 17th Reserve Battalion. In November of 1916 Albert reverted to the rank of Private by his own request so that he could proceed overseas as a transfer to the 43rd Battalion where he was taken strength in the field on the 14th. In March of 1917 Albert was attached for duty to the 3rd Army Troops Company, Canadian Engineers, returning to the 43rd Battalion in early May.

Albert suffered his first injury in late October of 1917, a gunshot wound to the foot. He was admitted to the No 12 Canadian Field Ambulance and then transferred to the No 1 Canadian General Hospital in Etaples followed by the No 6 Convalescent Depot. He was discharged in mid December. On 11 January 1918, in the field, Albert was awarded a Good Conduct Badge. Albert’s second wounding came on 18 August 1918 when he suffered a shrapnel wound to the buttock. This time he was invalided to England for treatment, admitted to the 4th Southern General Hospital in Plymouth. In December Albert was granted a fourteen day leave and was struck off strength to Canada in January of 1919. He was discharged from service on demobilization in Winnipeg on the 31 January 1919.

After the war Albert secured employment with the Winnipeg Public School Board, eventually retiring in 1944. The couple gave birth to a son, Albert John (Jack), in August of 1920. While in Winnipeg Albert was active in St Alban’s Church and the Fort Rouge Branch of the Canadian Legion. In the early 1950’s Albert and Priscilla moved to Keewatin, Ontario, a small town near Kenora where daughter Constance and her husband Ivan Fines were living. While in Keewatin Albert was a member of the St James Anglican Church, the Kenora Lawn Bowling Club, and the Keewatin Branch of the Canadian Legion.

Predeceased by his mother Ellen in 1908 and father David in 1929, both in England, and his wife Priscilla in 1954 in Keewatin, Albert died on 27 August 1963 at Deer Lodge Hospital in Winnipeg following a short illness. His Veteran Death Card listed his daughter, Mrs. Constance Fines of Keewatin, Ontario as his next of kin. At the time he was survived by daughter Constance (Ivan) Fines, daughter Betty (William) Dulmage of Rochester, New York, and son Jack, also of New York. Constance died in 1986 in Keewatin, Jack in 1996 in Bethlehem, Connecticut, and Betty in 1999 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Albert and Priscilla are interred in the Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens in Winnipeg (unmarked graves).

Albert’s brother Harry had immigrated to Australia and on 4 October 1918 he signed attestation papers in Loowoomba, occupation given as painter and carpenter. He did not go overseas and was discharged 31 December 1918.

by Judy Stockham

101st Battalion photographs from the 101st Battalion CEF Souvenir Program 1916

grave marker photographs provided by Donald Schmidt, findagrave.com


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