Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthJune 5, 1899
Place of BirthManchester, Lancashire
CountryEngland
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinWilliam and Isabella Park (parents), Manchester, England
ReligionChurch of England
Service Details
Regimental Number37512
Battalion1st Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)
ForceBritish Army
BranchBritish Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Place of EnlistmentManchester, Lancashire, England
Address at EnlistmentManchester, Lancashire, England
Date of EnlistmentDecember 11, 1917
Age at Enlistment18
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathApril 5, 1958
Age at Death58
Buried AtLake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario
Plot61E, Angel Crest Block

Park, John Harold Herbert

Private John Harold Herbert Park was the son of William Henry Park and Isabella Lumsden of Manchester, England. William was born in Ulverston, Lancashire and his wife in Dundee, Scotland. They were married in 1880 in Barrow in Furness, Lancashire and they had ten children over the next 27 years. The family lived in Barrow in Furness in the1880s and spent a few years in Cardiff, South Wales in the 1890s. By the time Harold was born, on 5 June 1899, William and Isabella had settled in the city of Manchester. At the time of the 1911 census they were living on Claremont Road and William was working as a corporation labourer. Two children had died but seven were still living at home, including the oldest daughter Margaret who was married.

Harold was only 15 years old when the war started. He said he enlisted in Manchester on 11 December 1917, at age 18, joining the Reserve Battalion of the King’s Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster). The reserve unit provided drafts of reinforcements to the regular battalions and at some point Harold was transferred to the 1st Battalion, King’s Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster). He served for a year and was discharged on demobilization on 24 December 1918 at Heaton Park in Manchester. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals.

In 26 December 1921 Harold was married at St. Paul’s Church on Stretford Road in Manchester. His wife, Rosina Elizabeth Bird, was born in Manchester on 3 November 1898, the daughter of Jethro and Rosina Bird. Harold and Rosina’s oldest child, William, was born in Manchester. Harold was a salesman at the time of his marriage but he was later employed as an iron worker at Partington Iron and Steel in Trafford Park, Greater Manchester. In June 1923 his older sister Annie Beatrice immigrated to Canada. She married a war veteran, William Hulmes, and they lived in Kenora, Ontario. Harold and Rosina joined them there in 1929, arriving in Canada with their son William on 29 June on the SS Duchess of Atholl.

Harold and his wife settled in Kenora and another son, Dennis, was born in 1938. Harold worked as paymaster for the Department of Northern Affairs. Starting in the late 1930s he was employed as Captain Guard at the local pulp and paper mill and he worked there for about twenty years. He was a member of the Canadian Legion, Kenora branch, and the Mando Employees Club.

Harold passed away in the Kenora General Hospital on 5 April 1958, at age 58. He was survived by his wife and two sons and he’s buried in Angel Crest Block at Lake of the Woods Cemetery. Rosina lived to the grand age of 106, passing away in June 2005. Her last few years were spent at Pinecrest Home for the Aged. She is buried beside Harold in Lake of the Woods Cemetery.

By Becky Johnson

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