Historic Sites of Manitoba: Knox Presbyterian Church / Trinity United Church (15 Tupper Street South, Portage la Prairie)

Link to:
Clerics | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

The Trinity United Church building on Tupper Street South in Portage la Prairie, known initially as the Knox Presbyterian Church, was designed by the Toronto architectural firm of James Avon Smith and John Gemmell. Construction in 1897 was supervised by Winnipeg architect Henry Sandham Griffith.

Plaques inside the church commemorate parishioners of Knox Presbyterian Church and Grace Methodist Church who served and were killed during the First World War.

Clerics (Knox Presbyterian)

Period	Cleric
1862-1867	Rev. Fletcher
1867-1873	Rev. Alexander Mathewson
1874-1887	Rev. Alan Bell
1888-1899	Dr. Peter Wright
1899-1904	Rev. George Arnold
1905-1911	Rev. Thurlow Fraser
1912-1917	Rev. G. Watt Smith
1918-1925	Dr. Peter Scott
1925-1935	Dr. J. W. Cruikshank

Clerics (Grace Methodist)

Period	Cleric
1872-?	Rev. Michael Fawcett
?-?	Rev. William Halstead
?-?	Rev. J. Hewitt
?-?	Rev. James Woodworth

Clerics (Trinity United)

Period	Cleric
1935-1938	Rev. Hyslop Dickson
1938-1943	Rev. George Abernethy
1943-?	Rev. Allan Martin

Photos & Coordinates

Postcard view of Knox Presbyterian Church (circa 1910) Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2015-0055 Trinity United Church (June 2017) Source: George Penner Interior of Trinity United Church (June 2017) Source: George Penner First World War commemorative plaque from Grace Methodist Church (December 2019) Source: Darryl Toews First World War commemorative plaque from Knox Presbyterian Church (December 2019) Source: Darryl Toews Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.97228, W98.29153 denoted by symbol on the map above

First World War Casualties (Grace Methodist Church)

Name	Occupation	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
Cecil George Burton [Portage]	Tinsmith	1st Armoured Regiment, Royal Canadian Dragoons	Lance Corporal	26 July 1891	10 August 1918
James Crickmore Craig [Portage]	Farmer	1st Battalion, Canadian Machine Gun Corps	Corporal	2 December 1890	10 August 1918
Herbert Allison Crust [Portage, Oakland]	Student	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	21 April 1894	29 August 1918
Elmer Cecil Dalzell [Portage]	Hardware Clerk	5th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	21 September 1893	9 April 1917
James Robertson Duff [Portage]	Dentist	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Lieutenant	15 November 1879	8 October 1916
Charles Edgar Dykeman [Portage]	Accountant	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Lieutenant	21 March 1886	8 October 1916
John Henry Froats [Portage]	Plumber	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	18 November 1897	21 August 1917
Frederick Henry Leppard [Portage]	Cashier	1st Canadian Mounted Rilfes	Corporal	18 October 1892	30 October 1918
Thomas Sherman Logan [Portage]	Jeweller	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	9 November 1894	8 October 1916
John Paterson Maguire	Railroad Man	29th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	4 December 1893	5 November 1920
Claude Elliott Matthews [Beaver Creek, Union Church of Beaver, Portage]	Farmer	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	19 May 1894	6 November 1917
Edgerton Dolmage Neelands [Portage]	Driver Motor	4th Canadian Division, Machine Gun Company, Yukon Motor Machine Gun Battery	Private	3 November 1882	23 September 1918
Ira Stanley Nixon [Melita, Portage]	Tinsmith	5th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	25 September 1893	4 August 1917
Ernest Prout [Portage]	Tinsmith	78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	27 September 1891	26 November 1917
Stanton Iris Robinson [Portage]	Farmer	29th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	30 August 1896	24 July 1916
Norman James Thomas MM [Portage, Wesley College]	Student	28th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Lieutenant	9 March 1894	6 November 1917
James Harrison Thompson [Amaranth, Portage]	Farmer	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Private	26 February 1884	31 October 1917

First World War Casualties (Knox Presbyterian Church)

Name	Occupation	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
William Creighton Bowman [Portage]	Student	Private	1st Field Ambulance, Canadian Army Medical Corps	10 May 1897	8 August 1918
Frank Telford Brindell [Next of Kin, Portage]	Stenographer	Private	85th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	22 January 1897	2 September 1918
William Daum [Portage]	Hardware Clerk	Private	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	9 July 1896	28 March 1917
Thomas R. Douglas	?	?	?	?	?
Allan Francis [Law Society, Portage]	Clerk	Private	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	23 April 1893	23 April 1917
Robert MacDonald [Portage]	Clerk	Private	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	24 April 1894	15 September 1916
Alexander Mackie [Portage]	Farmer	Private	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	5 March 1890	26 October 1917
William Lee Mawhinney [108 Battalion, Law Society, Portage]	Barrister	Lieutenant	54th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	15 June 1892	2 March 1917
Albert Milton McCaig [Portage]	Clerk	Private	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	28 March 1893	3 September 1917
Angus Norman McCuaig [Portage]	Railroad Brakeman	Private	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	4 October 1893	8 October 1916
Malcolm Roderic McCuaig	Seaman	Private	67th Battalion, Canadian Infantry & Royal Flying Corps	24 March 1892	4 November 1918
George Douglas McKay [Portage]	Miller	Private	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	23 January 1894	11 October 1916
Alexander McNab [Portage, Sidney, Telephones]	Telephone Inspector	Sergeant	10th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	21 August 1891	24 May 1915
John Nicholson [Brandon Armoury, Portage]	Farm Hand	Private	18th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	20 October 1897	23 May 1917
Frank Stanley Oliver MM [Portage]	Clerk	Private	29th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	24 July 1889	3 April 1919
James Peden [Portage]	Laborer	Private	28th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	1 April 1896	15 September 1916
Douglas Smith [Agricultural College, Portage]	Student	Lieutenant	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	22 October 1897	28 August 1918

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: Henry Sandham Griffith (1865-1943)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: First Presbyterian Church (17 Royal Road South, Portage la Prairie)

Sources:

[Architectural drawings], United Church of Canada Archives, Toronto, Ontario.

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).

We thank Robert Hill for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough, Darryl Toews, and George Penner.

Page revised: 13 March 2025

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