Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthSeptember 19, 1891
Place of BirthPeterborough
CountryEngland
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinElizabeth Bradley, mother. 18 Thistlemoor Road, Peterborough, England
Trade / CallingFireman
ReligionPresbyterian
Service Details
Regimental Number439062
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion40th Battalion
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Address at EnlistmentKenora, Ontario
Date of EnlistmentDecember 28, 1914
Age at Enlistment23
Theatre of ServiceGreat Britain
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathJune 20, 1971
Age at Death80
Buried AtLake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario
Plot0E-3-5

Bradley, Walter

Born in Peterborough, England, Walter  was the son of  Frederick James Bradley and Elizabeth Ireland (maiden name of mother).  Walter’s  siblings were  2  older brothers Ernest and  John (known as Jerry) and 1 younger brother Frank.  His parents remained in England while both Walter and Ernest immigrated to Canada.  The brothers were among a few other young lads from Peterborough  who came  to Kenora to work  for  the Canadian Pacific Railroad and took up residence at  the Y.M.C.A.  This building was  conveniently located across from the Kenora railroad station.

When  Canada entered the war the ‘Peterborough boys’  answered the call for recruits.  By the end of the year, 1914, some of the lads from Kenora  known as the ‘Peterborough Boys’ were officially in the army.  Among these  young men  from Kenora were both the Bradley brothers,  Ernest Bradley and Walter.  Both were assigned  to the 52nd Battalion and fought  overseas.  Ernest  survived, as did Walter, and  returned to Kenora.  Frank, their younger brother had  joined up with the Northants in England and was killed early in the war.

Upon returning home after the  war Walter married a Kenora girl, Maude Coppard.  Maude was born in Kenora (then known by Rat Portage).  The railroad work and the war ‘took it’s toll’ on Walter; he was losing his hearing. This disability  caused him to lose his  job with the railroad.  Becoming  self employed Walter hired himself out around town doing  odd jobs, particularly house painting or wallpapering.

They made their family home in the  ‘Lakeside area’ in Kenora.  There they raised their  7 children; Frank, Bob, Bill, June, Mae, Allan and Pete.  Walter and Maude’s son, Bill, later lost his life in the 2nd World War.  Frank and Bob also served in WW2 and  were fortunate to return home.

Walter and Maude’s  family were raised with  the Anglican faith.  Family members state that their father Walter was 82 when  he died, therefore his tombstone states 1889 as his birth year. In 1971 Walter  had a  stroke and was hospitalized but unfortunately he  didn’t recover and passed away.  Maude died  just over 1 year later in 1972.   Both are  buried together  in the Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora.

By Linda Pelletier

Bradley-Ernest-98 Bradley-Walter-80 Bradley-Walter-81 Bradley-Walter-83 Bradley-Walter-84 Bradley-Walter-85 Bradley-Walter-86 Bradley-Walter-87 Bradley-Walter-98

Obituary is from the Kenora Miner and News.


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