Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthFebruary 23, 1897
Place of BirthKeewatin, Ontario
CountryCanada
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinMrs. Mary Walker (mother), P.O. Box 157, Keewatin, Ontario
Trade / CallingFisherman
ReligionPresbyterian
Service Details
Regimental Number2383809
Service RecordLink to Service Record
Battalion10th Battalion
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Garrison Regiment
Enlisted / ConscriptedConscripted
Place of EnlistmentPort Arthur, Ontario
Address at EnlistmentP.O. Box 157, Keewatin, Ontario
Date of EnlistmentApril 17, 1918
Age at Enlistment21
Theatre of ServiceCanada
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathJuly 8, 1973
Age at Death76
Buried AtLake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario
Plot19E-26-3

Walker, William

Private William Walker was the son of William Walker Sr. and Mary Ogston Christie of Keewatin, Ontario. William Sr. was born in Derbyshire, England and his wife was from Aberdeen, Scotland. They both came to Canada in the mid-1880s. They were married in Keewatin in 1887 and they had at least five children: Alexander Christie (1889), Samuel (1892), Mary Ellen (1894), William (23 February 1897) and Margaret Ella (1905). Margaret died at age one and she’s buried in Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora. William (Sr.) worked as a labourer and later as a lumberman and carpenter. His oldest son, Alexander, passed away in August 1915, at age 26. He’s buried next to his infant sister in Lake of the Woods Cemetery.

Conscription was introduced in Canada in the summer of 1917, three years after the start of the war. William and his brother Samuel were both called up for service. William reported as required and had his medical in Keewatin in October 1917. His occupation at the time was fisherman and next of kin was listed as his mother Mary in Keewatin. He was called up on 17 April 1918 in Port Arthur and assigned to the 1st Depot Battalion, Manitoba Regiment. On 20 January 1919 he was transferred to the 10th Battalion, Canadian Garrison Regiment and he served with them for nine months. He was discharged on demobilization on 31 October 1919 in Port Arthur. He brother Samuel was called up in January 1918 and he served in England for nine months, returning home in November 1918.

When the 1921 census was taken William and Samuel were both living at home in Keewatin and working at a local sawmill. Samuel later moved to Thunder Bay but William was a lifelong resident of the Keewatin and Kenora area. His parents died in 1953, his father in April and his mother in August. They are buried in the family plot in Lake of the Woods Cemetery. William spent his last three years living in Pinecrest Home for the Aged. He passed away there on 8 July 1973, at age 76. His funeral was held three days later and he’s buried in Lake of the Woods Cemetery next to his parents, his brother Alexander and his sister Margaret. Previously unmarked, William’s grave marker was provided by Last Post Fund in 2019.

William and Samuel are commemorated on the Municipality of Keewatin “For King and Country” 1914-1918 plaque and the R. Douglas Fraser (Town of Keewatin) Roll of Honour.

By Becky Johnson


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