Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthNovember 4, 1892
Place of BirthTännäs
CountrySweden
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinJohn Green, father, Post Office Box 261, Keewatin, Ontario
Trade / CallingFarmer
ReligionLutheran
Service Details
Regimental Number2383651
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion52nd Battalion
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedConscripted
Address at EnlistmentKenora, Ontario
Date of EnlistmentFebruary 4, 1918
Age at Enlistment25
Theatre of ServiceEurope
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of Death19460803
Age at Death53
Buried AtLake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario
PlotLV 46E-44-3

Green, Axel Alfred

Axel Alfred Green was  born November 4, 1892 in Tännäs, Sweden. His parents were John  Green and  Gertrude (Olson) Green. John and Gertrude emigrated from Sweden with their children in 1905/1906 and started farming in the Ostersund area of the Pellatt township near Keewatin/Kenora, Ontario. Axel was their second son with Olaf (Ole)  as the oldest and then after came Gustaf (Gustave), Oscar, Magnus, Edward and daughter Mary. Gertrude also had a daughter, Krsitina Ronsberg, from a previous marriage. All the children were born in Sweden.

In 1911 both Axel and his older brother  Ole were living in the westward Norman area of Kenora, lodging with Carl and Alma Carlson. They were working at a local saw mill; Axel was in the mill yard as a labourer and Ole as a planer. Their  family also listed them on the census as living at home on the farm.

Gustave and Oscar both enlisted in April 1916 with the 197th ‘Vikings of Canada’ Battalion. Gustave served overseas but Oscar was discharged in November 1916 as a deserter. Conscription started in Canada the following summer and Axel had his medical exam in Kenora on November 6, 1917. He was called up for service on February 4, 1918 in Port Arthur. He had been  living at home, was still single and working on the farm. Axel was assigned to the 1st Depot Battalion, Manitoba Regiment. He was sent to England with the 4th draft of his unit in April 1918, sailing on the S.S. Tunisian, and after arriving he was transferred to the 18th Reserve Battalion.

On May 28, 1918 Axel became ill with influenza and pneumonia and he was admitted to No. 14 General Hospital in Eastbourne. A few days later he was placed on the ‘dangerously ill’ list. His condition didn’t start to improve until June 11 and it wasn’t until August 23 that he was discharged to duty. In mid-October he was drafted to the 52nd Battalion and sent to France. He joined his new unit in the field at the end of the month and the Armistice ended hostilities about two weeks later. Axel served in France and Belgium until February 1919 when he returned to England with the 52nd Battalion. They embarked for Canada in March and he was discharged due to demobilization on March 31, 1919 in Port Arthur.

By 1921 Axel was once again listed as farming at the family homestead in Pellatt township along with his brothers Gustave, Magnus and Edward. Axel was a member of the Bethesda Lutheran Church and a member of the Vasa Lodge. By 1946 he was living in the town of Kenora on Fourth Avenue South.

Axel passed away at the Kenora General Hospital on August 3, 1946. He was only 54 years old. Left to mourn his loss were his four brothers and  two sisters, Olaf (Ole), Gustave (Gus), Magnus, Oscar, Christina ( Mrs. Adin Wallman) and Mary (Mrs. William Potts).

Axel was laid to rest in the  Liberty View Block of Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora, Ontario. His tombstone is engraved with the spelling as ‘Alex  A.Green’ as he was also known. His mother Gertrude (d.1912) and father John (d. 1936)  are also buried in this cemetery.

Green-Axel-Alfred-3


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