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These are the stories of Kenora participants in the First World War.
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Sergeant Aimé LeBleu enlisted in June 1915 and served as a recruitment officer in Canada until February 1917, when he was discharged for medical reasons. He died in a train accident eight months later. Aimé was the son of Jean (John) LeBleu and Marie Louise LaSalle of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Jean was born in 1843 in… Read More »
Cyril Delamere Boyce was born on 21 May 1894 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), Ontario. His father Arthur Cyril Boyce was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England and after graduating from Osgoode Hall in Toronto, practiced law in Port Arthur, Ontario before moving to Rat Portage. He married Victoria May Louisa Machin on 14 October… Read More »
Although he gave his year of birth as 1883 on his attestation papers, Charles Stewart Erskine was born on 16 November 1881 in Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland. His parents were Thomas and Janet (née Stewart) who had married in 1870 in Falkirk. Over the years Tom made his living as a joiner journeyman (contract carpenter). The… Read More »
After the war the town of Keewatin in northwester Ontario had a plaque made that honoured all who served and were from the area. W Masterson was listed on roll but his identity and service could not be confirmed.
Captain William Starkey Drewry spent more than a year overseas with the 61st and 10th Battalions. After being invalided back to Canada in 1917 he served as a recruitment officer in the U.S. William grew up in a prominent and wealthy family in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His father, Edward Lancaster Drewry, was originally from London, England…. Read More »
Eugene Carl Anderson was born on 30 July 1895 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), in northwestern Ontario. His parents, Swedish immigrants Charles Anderson and Christina Johnson, had married in Rat Portage in November of 1892. Other children born to the family were Nancy (abt 1893), Frederick (1894), Lily Johanna (1901), Edwin (1903), Nora (1906),… Read More »
Private Arthur Ernest Dawson signed up with an ambulance unit in April 1916 and served for eight months in France and Belgium. He was invalided home due to illness in October 1917. Arthur was born on 19 September 1875 in Norwich, Norfolk, England. His parents were Jonathan William Dawson and Hannah Scatley Hinde. Jonathan and… Read More »
Private John Fomin enlisted in May 1916 and served for three years in Canada, England and France. He was wounded in March 1917 and invalided to Canada in December 1918 due to illness. According to his attestation John was born on 26 September 1878 in Odessa, a large city on the northern tip of the… Read More »
Thomas G. Adams was living in Kenora, Ontario in the 1940s and he joined the local branch of the Canadian Legion on 2 February 1942. His address at the time was the Canadian Pacific Railway Lunch Counter in Kenora. His Legion application tells us he enlisted in Newcastle, England in April 1918 and served with… Read More »
Acting Corporal Harry Dawson was a CPR conductor in Kenora, Ontario when he enlisted with a railway unit in February 1917. He served in France and Belgium for two years and returned to Canada in July 1919. Harry was the son of Jonathan William Dawson and Hannah Scatley Hinde of Norwich, Norfolk, England. Jonathan was… Read More »
