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These are the stories of Kenora participants in the First World War.
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Donald Angus Valentine McKinnon was born on 14 February 1895 in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora) in northwestern Ontario. His father Angus Hugh McKinnon was from the Lochiel area of Glengarry in Ontario while his mother Catherine Jane McRae was from Roxborough, Ontario. Although he had been living in Rat Portage and working as a… Read More »
James Wesley Bates was born on 26 January 1886 in Penetanguishene, Ontario. His parents were Robert and Cathrine Ann (née Quigley) Bates who had married in 1882 in Orillia. Over the years Robert was involved in the lumbering business. Known children born to the family were Elizabeth Ann (1884, Parry Sound, Ontario), James, Walter (1888,… Read More »
Private Howard Winfred Curtis enlisted in February 1916 and served in France with the 8th Battalion. He was wounded at the Battle of the Somme and died in November 1916. Howard was the youngest son of Susan Tomlin and Charles William Curtis. Charles was born in Manitoba and grew up in Portage la Prairie. When… Read More »
William John Chapman was the son of James B. and Alice Maria (Blatchford) Chapman of 625 North Harold St., Fort William, Ontario, at the date of William’s enlistment in March of 1916. Father James died just before on January 7th, 1916 while in Ignace. Mother Alice Marie must have moved to Thunder Bay following James’… Read More »
George Patrick Weir was born on 9 August 1890 in Fergus, Ontario. His father William Anderson Weir was from Glasgow, Scotland and had immigrated to Canada in 1883. His mother Josephine Van Felson was born in Quebec City where the couple married in 1889. The marriage registration gave William’s occupation as employee of the Imperial… Read More »
John Alexander Wiggins was born on 4 June 1873 on a farm in the area of Markdale, Ontario, about 150 kilometres northwest of Toronto in the Glenelg district of Grey. His father Thomas Wiggins was an Irish immigrant and his mother Margaret Gillespie, born in the area, was the daughter of Irish immigrants. Thomas and… Read More »
Pierre Noel Bernard enlisted with the 94th Battalion for overseas service during WW1 on 17 February 1916 in Kenora, Ontario. He stated that he was born on 25 December 1877 in St. Ann, Quebec. Birth records (Drouin Collection) show that he was actually born in 1868, so he was 48 years old when he signed… Read More »
Private Phillip (Philippe) Charlebois enlisted in February 1916 and served overseas with the 43rd Battalion. He was severely wounded at the Battle of the Somme in October 1916. After a long convalescence he rejoined his battalion in the fall of 1917 and he was killed in action four months later. Phillip was the oldest son… Read More »
Private George Melvin Pollard signed up with the 94th Battalion in January 1916. He was wounded at the Somme and he suffered from illness for much of his time overseas, but he survived the war and returned to Canada in March 1919. George was born on 26 September 1880 in Moncton, New Brunswick. He moved… Read More »
Private Frederick Moose enlisted in August 1915 and served in France and Belgium with the 52nd Battalion and the Canadian Machine Gun Corps. He returned to Canada in March 1919. According to his attestation paper, Fred was born on 17 September 1891 in Nelson House, Manitoba. He was working in the Kenora area in northwestern… Read More »
