Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthJanuary 17, 1901
Place of BirthHulme, Manchester, Lancashire
CountryEngland
Marital StatusSingle
ReligionChurch of England
Service Details
Regimental Number25855/23638/105371
ForceBritish Expeditionary Force
BranchMachine Gun Corps
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Place of EnlistmentManchester, England
Date of EnlistmentSeptember 1917
Death Details
Date of DeathFebruary 1, 1961
Age at Death60
Buried AtLake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario
Plot15E-13-3

Houldsworth, Frederick Joseph

Frederick Joseph Houldsworth was born on 17 January 1901 in the inner city of Hulme in Manchester, Lancashire, England. His parents James Houldsworth, a brick layer, and Mary Florence Easthope married on 14 February 1886 in Hulme. Children born to the couple were Margaret (1886), William Henry (1887), Clara (1889), James Edward (1891-1892), Ellen (1894), Thomas Ellis (1896), Catherine Mabel (1897) and Joseph. It appears that his father died around the time of his birth, with his mother marrying Thomas Fielden, a plumber, during the third quarter of 1906. The 1911 census gave the number of years married as 9, with perhaps the couple living together since around 1902. Fielden children in the family were Mary Agnes (1904), Edward Samuel (1906), Edith Gertrude (1909), and Alice (1912).

On 26 December 1921, in Hulme, Joseph married Emily May Bird. Born in 1901 in Broughton, Lancashire, Emily was the daughter of Jethro Bird, a green grocer, and Rose Tett. At the time of the marriage Joseph’s occupation was given as labourer. After the Second World War Joseph and Emily immigrated to Canada, settling in Kenora, Ontario in 1948. Prior to immigration he had been in business with a brother back in England. In Kenora he worked for the Ontario Liquor Commission. Joining the Kenora Branch of the Canadian Legion, Joseph’s membership card cites service in WW1 from 1917-1920 with the Artillery. According to Joseph’s WW1 Medal Index card and WW! Service and Medals Award Rolls, he first served with East Surrey Regiment (#25855), then the 21st Lancers (#23638) and latterly with the Machine Gun Corps (#105371). His legion card also indicated WW2 service with the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. His brother Thomas had served as a Driver with the Royal Field Artillery during WW1, returning to England in August of 1919. Joseph was a member of St Alban’s Pro Cathedral and the Lake of the Woods Masonic Lodge, AF & AM No 445.

Joseph died on 1 February 1961 in the Winnipeg General Hospital. He was predeceased by his father James, infant brother James, and his mother Mary Florence (1944). At the time of his death he was survived by his wife Emily and his eleven siblings back in England: Margaret (Samuel) Fielden (d 1968), William Henry (d 1972), Clara (Charles) Gillcrist (d 1968), Ellen (James) Giles (d 1974), Thomas Ellis, Catherine Mabel (d 1973), Mary Agnes (Henry) Smallshaw (d 1977), Edward Samuel (d 1996), Edith Gertrude (James) Appleby (d 1975), and Alice (Thomas) Atkinson (d 1980). Joseph’s wife Emily died in 1986 and is interred with him in the Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora.

By Judy Stockham

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