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These are the stories of Kenora participants in the First World War.
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David (Pax) Gibson Gordon was born to James William Gordon and Helen Douglas Gibson Gordon in Maybole, Ayrshire, Scotland on January 30, 1899. The family immigrated to Canada on the SS Corinthian, arriving in Montreal, Quebec on September 6, 1906. From there, they made their way directly to Keewatin, Ontario where many of… Read More »
According to his obituary, Joseph Henry Raslask was born on 25 October 1896 in Poland and served in WW1, service unconfirmed. In later years he went by the surname of Lusk. After immigrating to Canada he found work with the Canadian Pacific Railway, retiring in 1959 as a conductor. Joseph married Vera Johnson and known… Read More »
Cadet Pilot Clifford Wallace Brock was the oldest son of Robert Meadows Brock and Agnes McKechnie Francis of Kenora, Ontario. His mother was from a large family in Stirlingshire, Scotland and his father was born and raised in Belfountain, Peel County, Ontario. They were married in 1890 in Belfountain and Clifford was born there on… Read More »
William Thomas (Bill) Cotter was born on 10 December 1887 in Quebec City, date confirmed by his baptism record. Both of his parents, Andrew Cotter and Mary Jane O’Neill, were born in Quebec to Irish immigrants. The couple married on 21 April 1884 in Quebec City. Over the years Andrew worked as a plumber as… Read More »
The first born child of the family, John Henry Gardner was born on 28 June 1889 in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. His parents William, a bricklayer by trade, and Nina Elizabeth (née Whitehouse), a dressmaker, had married during the first quarter of 1888 in Kidderminster. Other children born to the family were Frederick (1893) and Frank (1898)…. Read More »
William John Reid was born on 2 June 1896 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), in northwestern Ontario, date confirmed by his baptism record. His parents Charles Francis Reid and Mary Elizabeth Savage were both born in New Brunswick, marrying on 1 November 1887 in Newcastle. Son Francis William (Frank) was born in 1888 in… Read More »
Sapper William Lavigne was living in the Nelson area in British Columbia when he enlisted on 6 September 1916. According to his attestation paper he was born on 27 January 1876 in Kenora, Ontario, although it’s very unlikely he was actually born there. His death registration records his birth as 19 February 1877 in Ontario… Read More »
During the First World War aircraft technology was in its early stages and more pilots were killed during training and reconnaissance than in combat. Second Lieutenant Gerald Walton Bailey joined the Royal Flying Corps in January 1918 and eight months later he died in a training accident in Toronto. Gerald was born on 18 March… Read More »
Reverend Charles William McKim was born on 12 August 1867 in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Robert McKim and Isabella Meredith. Robert and Isabella had at least five children: Robert, Isabella, Henrietta, Charles and Joseph. Charles attended Wycliffe College in Toronto and King’s College in Windsor, Nova Scotia, graduating with an M.A. He entered the… Read More »
According to his Ontario birth record, Chester H Godfrey was born on 23 March 1878 in Hinchinbrooke, Ontario. This date and place differs from his attestation papers (25 March 1885 in Kingston, Ontario) and his obituary (15 March 1879 in Godfrey, Ontario). Chester’s parents were Coleman H Godfrey and Mary Ann Hill who had married… Read More »
