Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthAugust 14, 1893
Place of BirthLetterkenny, Donegal
CountryIreland
Service Details
Regimental Number5692/153716
Battalion11th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps
ForceBritish Expeditionary Force
BranchBritish Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Place of EnlistmentPreston, Lancashire
Date of EnlistmentJune 23, 1914
Theatre of ServiceEurope
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathMay 5, 1971
Age at Death77
Buried AtLake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario

Wilson, William

According to his later marriage record and obituary, William Wilson, the son of John and Annie Wilson, was born on 12 August 1895 in County Donegal in Northern Ireland. However he was the son of Mary Anne Sproule and was born on 14 August 1893 in the workhouse in Letterkenny, Donegal. By the time of the 1901 Ireland census William was boarding with John and Annie (née Holmes) Wilson on Ballymacool Road in Letterkenny, name given as William Sproule on the census. John was from Donegal while Annie was from Tyrone, the couple marrying in 1883 in Letterkenny. The couple gave birth to son Robert John in 1884 in Letterkenny. By the time of the 1911 census for Letterkenny, William was listed as John and Annie’s son, with the surname of Wilson.

From his WW1 Medal Rolls Index Card and Keewatin Legion membership card, William enlisted with the 1st East Lancashire Regiment on 23 June 1914 at Preston in Lancashire. He later transferred to the 11th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps and was discharged from service on 14 August 1921. William’s obituary stated that he served in India. His service record was not available.

Although a passenger list was not found, according to his obituary William immigrated to Canada in 1921, first living in Ottawa before moving to Keewatin in northwestern Ontario in 1923. On 2 March 1928, in Keewatin, he married Jean Steele Isenor. Born in 1895 in Keewatin, Jean was the daughter of Norman Isenor and Margaret Steele, her parents marrying in 1893 in Keewatin. Sadly Jean’s mother died in 1899 and at the time of the 1901 census, along with her father and younger sister, she was boarding with the Steele family in Keewatin.

William and Jean were to make Keewatin their home. William worked as a packer for the Lake of the Woods Milling Company in Keewatin for 37 years, retiring in 1960. He was involved in Boy Scouts for 25 years, serving as a district commissioner in later years. He was a member of St James Anglican Church in Keewatin and the Keewatin Branch of the Canadian Legion. Jean and William gave birth to one known child, daughter Maureen in 1938.

Predeceased by his wife Jean in 1961, William died on 5 May 1971 in the Lake of the Woods District Hospital in Kenora. At the time of his death he was survived by his daughter Maureen (Don) McRae of Keewatin and two grandchildren. Maureen passed away the next year. William, Jean, and Maureen are interred in the Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora.

By Judy Thorburn


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