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These are the stories of Kenora participants in the First World War.
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Bombardier Carl Andrew Hansen was one of four brothers from Keewatin, Ontario who served in the First World War. Carl was the son of Nils (Nels) Julius Hansen and his wife Ellen Nilson. Nils and Ellen both immigrated to Canada in the 1880s, Nils from Norway and Ellen from Sweden. They were married in December… Read More »
Harry Selman was born during the second quarter of 1888 in Tormarton, Gloucestershire, England. His parents were Thomas Selman who was born in Tormarton and Sarah Green, born in Calstone, Wiltshire. The couple married on 7 May 1881 in Tormarton. Harry did not have any siblings that survived; two other children had been born to… Read More »
Birth date and location: Harry’s actual birth is recorded in the second quarter of 1877 in the registration district of Aston, County of Warwickshire, England; however he states that his birth was June 4, 1879, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. There appears to be no explanation as to how this date was determined. Family and early life:… Read More »
Herbert Clinton McConnell was born on 14 October 1896 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora), Ontario, date and place confirmed by his Ontario birth record. His parents Robert McConnell and Eliza Jane Copeland, although from Quebec, were both of Irish origin. They married on 14 May 1890 in Kazabazua, La-Vallee-de-la Gatineau in Quebec. The 1891… Read More »
Shortly after Britain declared war in August 1914 the Canadian government proposed raising an Expeditionary Force to send overseas. By late September a contingent of 32,000 volunteers had been assembled at the new military camp in Valcartier, Quebec. Two thirds of the men in this 1st Canadian Contingent were born in the British Isles including… Read More »
Sergeant James William Hogg served in the British army both before and during the First World War. He was discharged from service in 1917 and two years later he immigrated to Canada. James was the son of William Hogg and Margaret Robson Laidlaw of Hawick, Roxburghshire, Scotland. William and Margaret were married in Hawick on… Read More »
Private Charles McCloy was born on 15 December 1891 in Medicine Hat, North-West Territories (now in Alberta). His parents, Alexander McCloy and Matilda Emma Jory, were both born in Ontario. They were married in Medicine Hat in 1891 and they had one other son, John, who was born in 1893 or 1894. By 1906 the… Read More »
For most of the war regulations required soldiers to be at least 19 years old before they served in front line units but thousands of young Canadians enlisted underage, and many of them were killed in action or died of wounds. Private Robert Thomas Nuson enlisted just after he turned 17 and he was killed… Read More »
Earle Cameron Popham was born on 1 July 1892 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Their first born child, he was the son of Dr Edwin and Ella (née Tourje) Popham. Edwin was from the Ottawa area while Ella was from Cobourg, Ontario. It is likely that the couple met while Edwin was attending Victoria College in Cobourg,… Read More »
William Coghill was born on 14 April 1899 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His parents were James Coghill and Annie Elizabeth Ferguson Hosea, the couple marrying on 19 November 1897 in Edinburgh. At the time of the marriage James was working as a stereotyper and Annie as a bookfolder. For the 1901 census the family was living… Read More »
