To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, I am working on a series of blog posts and radio shows that will look at some of the thousands of Manitobans who died serving their country. For more, follow this link.
The duplex at 501-503 Sherbrook Street has burned down. The building was vacant and boarded up at the time. The 503 side has connections to a sad wartime story.
James Wilson was born in 1887 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and came to Winnipeg in 1909. In the 1911 census, the 27-year-old is a railway machinist and one of four lodgers living in the Atkinson family home at 255 Alfred Street.
1916 Census of Canada, Library and Archives Canada
By the time of the 1916 census, James is married to fellow Belfaster Margaret “Maggie” Wilson, who came to Canada in 1911. As their two Manitoba-born children, James and Cowan, were only aged two and one at the time, it's likely that the two met and married after coming to Winnipeg.
The Wilsons lived at unit 4 of the Lanark Apartments, 693 Maryland Street when James enlisted with the 183rd Overseas Battalion in March 1916. On his attestation papers, he indicated that he had no previous military or militia experience.
Wilson arrived in England in October 1916 and was transferred to the 107th (Timber Wolf) Pioneer Battalion (also see). The 107th was notable for having a large contingent of Indigenous soldiers in its ranks, including Manitoba distance runner Joe Keeper. It performed some engineering duties, so Wilson's machinist background would have been appreciated.
The 107th arrived in France in early March 1917, and Wilson was made a Corporal in early April.
In July, he was sent to No. 7 Canadian Field Hospital, then back to England, to recover from a fractured fibula. Once mended, he returned to the front.
November 1, 1917, Winnipeg Tribune
Wilson was reported as missing in action in mid-August 1917 at the start of the Battle for Hill 70 (also see) near Lens, France. His body was found in September, and he was declared Killed in Action on August 15, 1917 at the age of 32. He is buried at Maroc British Cemetery in France.
They spent a short time at a rooming house at 639 Flora Avenue, and then to a rented room at 671 Maryland Street. This was the family home of Kenneth R. Suttie, a clerk (later an auditor), at the CNR.
It was here that Margaret was informed about her husband's disappearance and death.
War Service Gratuity form, Wilson Military file. Library and Archives Canada.
The Sutties and Wilsons must have created a strong bond, because when they moved to a new house at 503 Sherbrook Street around 1919, Wilson and her children moved with them. It is where she received her final war gratuity of $100 (about $1,500 in 2026 dollars) for her husband's death.
It doesn't appear that Margaret had any family of her own here, but Robert G. Wilson, her brother-in-law, also moved into to the new Suttie house, presumably to help look after her and provide a father figure for the children. By this time, he was married to Hanna and they had their first child by 1920.
November 29, 1919, Winnipeg Tribune
In 1919, cases of "the latest and most mysterious disease known to medical science" began to appear in Winnipeg. It wasn't influenza, but encephalitis lethargica or "sleeping sickness". Little is known about the disease, even today, but it is believed to have affected at least a million people between 1917 through the early 1930s. The peak of the epidemic was from 1920 to 1924.
Signs of the disease included flu-like symptoms, fatigue, movement disorders, some paralysis, confusion, and mood changes. Some that caught it could be dead within days or a couple of weeks; those that survived were often left with some long-term symptoms.
I can't find overall numbers for this epidemic, but monthly disease reports for Winnipeg in November 1919 show 35 cases and 12 deaths. The total number of deaths that first year was 15. The disease came and went in waves. In February 1923, for instance, there were 66 cases and 12 deaths, but the following month there were only 15 cases and one death.
February 16, 1923, Winnipeg Free Press
Sadly, one of those February 1923 victims was Margaret Wilson. She died on February 14, 1923, at the age of 32 and was buried at Elmwood Cemetery two days later.
1926 Census of Canada. Library and Archives Canada.
Tracing the fate of James and Margaret's children is a little difficult due to their very common names (Cowan went by Doug).
Robert G. Wilson, James' brother, continued to look after the children after Margaret's death. The 1926 census shows the blended Wilson family living together at 307 Bradford Street in St. James.
March 13, 1987, Winnipeg Free Press
Cowan Douglas "Doug" Wilson, who was around eight at the time of his mother's death, appears to have gone into the grocery business. The 1965 street directory uses his full name as the manager of a Shop Easy food store at 1140 Pembina Highway. He lived at 72 Stranmillis Avenue at the time.
Doug Wilson died in March 1987 at the age of 72. His brief obituary mentions no wife or children, just his brother James W. Wilson and his wife Margaret.
James W. Wilson appears to have gone into the bakery business. There is someone by that name and initial with a wife named Margaret who can be found at 131 Ferry Road from at least 1945 to 1965. He began as a salesman for Bryce Bakery, then a supervisor at Glen Bakery, and a route foreman for Weston Bakeries.
According to Doug's obituary, James and Margaret retired to Vancouver, B.C..
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