Personal Details | |
Date of Birth | January 12, 1893 |
Place of Birth | Northumberland |
Country | England |
Marital Status | Single |
Next of Kin | Mother: Emily Green - Keewatin, Ontario |
Trade / Calling | Labourer |
Religion | Church of England |
Service Details | |
Regimental Number | 199172 |
Service Record | Link to Service Record |
Battalion | 94th Battalion |
Force | Canadian Expeditionary Force |
Branch | Canadian Infantry |
Enlisted / Conscripted | Enlisted |
Address at Enlistment | Keewatin, Ontario |
Date of Enlistment | March 13, 1916 |
Age at Enlistment | 23 |
Theatre of Service | Europe |
Prisoner of War | No |
Survived War | Yes |
Death Details | |
Date of Death | February 16, 1956 |
Age at Death | 63 |
Buried At | Lake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario |
Plot | EC 28E-18-1 |
John Bennett Green was born in Morpeth, Northumberland, England on January 12, 1893. John was the son of David Green and Rachael (Emily) Bennett. David and Rachael (Emily) also had 5 daughters. His sisters were Mrs. W. F. Collings, Elfreda (Mrs. A. Beckworth), Mrs. J. R. Cherry, Edith and Mrs. F. Donahoe.
At 19 years old, John immigrated to Canada coming directly to Keewatin. He travelled as a steerage passenger aboard the ship Corsican leaving Liverpool and arrived at the Port of Quebec on August 3, 1912. Next he made his way by train travelling 1/2 way across Canada to Keewatin. John arrived first with his mother and 2 sisters following the next year. Emily was listed as a widow. John was an electrician by trade and was hired on at the Lake of the Woods Flour Milling Company.
Answering the call for more men to volunteer, John signed his attestation paper in Kenora on March 13, 1916 and was placed with the 94th Battalion. After a short time in training at Val Cartier, Quebec, his unit embarked for England aboard the S.S. Olympic. Upon his arrival on 6 July 1916, John was transferred to the 17th Reserve Battalion. He headed to France on 24 August 1916 with the 28th Battalion, arriving at his unit in the field on 16 September. In June of 1917 John was attached to the 6th Canadian Trench Mortar Battery. Two months later on 15 August, at Lens, he was wounded (shrapnel to the back). John was admitted to hospital in Camiers and then transferred to England. On 2 September 1917 he was placed on the ‘dangerously ill’ list and underwent an operation to remove shrapnel and drain fluids. His left lung had been struck. Twenty days later his condition began to improve and he was removed from the dangerously ill list. He was transferred to hospital in Eastbourne and in December to hospital in Liverpool. John was invalided to Canada on the 29th December 1917 aboard the Araguaya. He was admitted to military hospital in Winnipeg on 17 January 1918 for further treatment. John was discharged on 31 March 1918 due to being medically unfit for further military service.
Returning to Keewatin, John went back to work at the flour mill. Enlisted men held their positions in the mill to return when their war service was completed; John Bennett Green worked 43 years at the flour mill in his home town of Keewatin. He married Agnes J. Allan (known as Nancy) on Sept. 14, 1922 in Keewatin. Nancy was the daughter of Robert Allan and Annie (Gordon) Allan. John and Nancy made their home in Keewatin on Superior Street. They had 4 children; Joseph, Edward, Josie (later marrying Joseph T. Larkin) and Carol Ann (still at home when her father passed away).
At 63 years old John Bennett Green died suddenly at his home in Keewatin on February 16, 1956. He is buried in the Elmwood Circle Block of the Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora, Ontario. He left behind to mourn his loss his wife Nancy and his 4 children. Also mourning the loss of John were his 5 sisters. Nancy lived till 1986 and was laid to rest with her husband.
John B. Green is commemorated on 3 plaques – For King and Country-Municipality of Keewatin, the Roll of Honour-Lake of the Woods Milling Company and on a Roll of Honour-St. James Church in Keewatin.
By Linda Pelletier