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

Postcard view of St. Paul’s United Church (no date)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2018-0063

St. Paul's United Church

St. Paul’s United Church (July 2010)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

St. Paul's United Church

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

Historic Sites of Manitoba

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