Historic Sites of Manitoba: Carmel Presbyterian Church / St. Paul’s Methodist Church / St. Paul’s United Church (286 Nelson Street West, Virden)

Link to:
Clerics | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

There has been a church on this site since 1883 when the North West Land Company, the agency charged with administering the Town of Virden on behalf of the Canadian Pacific Railway, granted the property to the Carmel Presbyterian Church. The cornerstone of that building is contained in a wall of the present church, built in 1901 for a Methodist congregation. First World War Honour Rolls for congregants of Carmel Presbyterian and Virden Methodist are displayed inside the church.

Clerics

Period	Cleric
?-?	Walter Allison Cooke (1866-1954)
1932-?	Cecil Harold Best (1886-1968)

Photos & Coordinates

Postcard view of St. Paul’s United Church (no date) Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2018-0063 St. Paul’s United Church (July 2010) Source: Gordon Goldsborough St. Paul’s United Church (May 2022) Source: Rose Kuzina Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.84962, W100.93311 denoted by symbol on the map above

Carmel Presbyterian Church Casualties

Name	Occupation	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
William James Ballantyne [Virden]	Farmer	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	9 December 1887	8 July 1917
Henry Victor Best [Brandon College, Virden]	School teacher	1st Battalion, Canadian Machine Gun Corps	Private	30 April 1896	10 August 1918
Gordon Biggs [Vimy Ridge, Virden]	Gentleman	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	10 July 1895	2 January 1917
Archibald Cameron [Virden]	Farmer	5th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	22 August 1886	25 May 1915
Walter Russell Coutts [Virden]	Clerk	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	29 May 1897	25 June 1918
Daniel Leitch McPherson Fleck [Virden]	Farmer	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	29 November 1883	10 August 1918
Alexander Forsyth [Brandon Armoury, Virden]	Locomotive Fireman	B Squadron, Canadian Light Horse	Lance Corporal	29 July 1893	9 October 1918
James Hugh Foster [Virden]	Farmer	5th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	25 February 1897	1 September 1918
George William Gilby [Lenore, Virden]	Labourer	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Lance Corporal	21 July 1888	2 June 1916
William Grant [Virden]	Tailor	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Lance Corporal	2 September 1890	10 October 1916
Thomas Henry Jackson [St. Mary, Virden]	Laborer	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Private	5 December 1893	5 June 1916
James McLennan Laing [Virden]	Labourer	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	16 February 1890	28 October 1917
William Mason	Farmer	5th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1 February 1895	7 June 1916
Archie Wallace McDermaid [Virden]	Farmer	4th Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops	Sapper	30 August 1887	1 February 1919
W. B. McDuff	?	?	?	?	?
William John McGuffin [Virden]	Stone Mason	13th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	3 August 1890	8 June 1917
James William Montgomery	Lawyer	46th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Lieutenant	26 January 1892	26 October 1918
Samuel Paton [Virden]	Farmer	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	14 January 1874	26 October 1917
Hugh Ross [Virden]	Farmer	28th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	31 January 1893	6 June 1916
S. Ross	?	?	?	?	?
William Ross [Brandon Armoury, Brandon College, Virden]	Teamster	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Corporal	17 April 1888	1 May 1917
Charles Gordon Sanford [Virden]	Farmer	2nd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	21 April 1894	3 April 1917

Virden Methodist Church Casualties

Name	Occupation	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
Gordon Biggs [Vimy Ridge, Virden]	Gentleman	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	10 July 1895	2 January 1917
Herbert Dickinson	?	?	?	?	?
Charles William Fitch [Virden]	Civil engineer	Canadian Engineers	Sapper	24 December 1898	21 April 1916
William Mason	Farmer	5th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1 February 1895	7 June 1916
Thomas Charles Mead [Virden]	Farmer	Canadian Infantry	Private	8 August 1892	7 January 1916
Fred Irwin Simpson [Broadway Methodist, Fort Rouge Methodist, Law Society, Next of Kin, Virden, Wesley College]	Law Student	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Captain	15 April 1893	12 March 1917
William Arthur Wilcox	Law	30th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	4 April 1893	21 May 1915

Sources:

For the names of First World War casualities from Manitoba who do not appear on any physical monument in the province, see the Manitoba Historical Society War Memorial. If you know of a name that is omitted from this list, please contact the MHS War Memorial Researcher Darryl Toews (darryl@mhs.mb.ca).

Soldiers of the First World War - Canadian Expeditionary Force, Library and Archives Canada.

Canadian Virtual War Memorial, Veterans Affairs Canada.

Financial support for research reported on this page was provided by the Manitoba Heritage Grants Program (2015-2016).

Virden Municipal Building and Auditorium, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch.

We thank LeAnne Langlois and Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Darryl Toews.

Page revised: 2 January 2024

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