March 14: Winnipeg's first WWI casualty, "Premier" Clarke; Michael Henderson.

March 15, 1915, Manitoba Free Press, page 1

March 14, 1915 - Lance Corporal Duncan Currie Patterson of the 16th Battalion Canadian Infantry (Manitoba Regiment) is believed to be the first Winnipegger killed in World War I. A Scottish immigrant, he lived at 413 Brandon Avenue with his wife and six children and was employed by contractors Kelly Bros. as a stone cutter on the construction of the legislature building

Photo source: The Soutar Home Page

An account of his death reads:

“While blazing away, Patterson was hit. The bullet struck his rifle as he was firing, between the stock and barrel, and glanced off into his neck and body. We tried to staunch the blood but Mowat, the stretcher-bearer, made signs ‘no good’ and whispered ‘jugular’. He was dead in a few minutes. We could see him die as he was the first man killed we were covered with his blood, we got quite a turn.” 

Patterson is buried in Rue-Petillon Military Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France.

In March 2007 his family donated his medals to the Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's) Regimental Museum in Victoria, B.C..


Also see his Canadian Virtual War Memorial page and read his attestation papers and his whole obituary.

March 14, 1889 - The Pilot Mound Sentinel (today the Sentinel-Courier) is first published by John A. Murdock.

March 14, 1988 - Elaschuk House, R.M. of Hillsburg near Roblin, is designated a Provincial Heritage Site.


March 14, 1872 H. J. H Clarke becomes the third "premier" of Manitoba and served until July 1874. At the time the position wasn't considered to be a premier but rather a "lead minister of cabinet."   

He represented St. Charles in the first provincial election and was Manitoba’s first Attorney General. Clarke Street in Osborne Village is named for him.

March 14, 1981 - Police shoot and kill Micheal Henderson on Garry Street. Depressed over the failing health of his father, he showed up at the St. Charles Hotel with a shotgun in what an inquest later called a "death wish." For more on the death of Michael Henderson.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm curious to learn more about The Michael Henderson story.

mrchristian said...

Ah, sorry. The hyperlink didn't catch. Her is a full post about Michael Henderson http://westenddumplings.blogspot.ca/2009/07/from-bottom-part-ii-michaell-hendersons.html

Anonymous said...

Thanx for The Henderson story link! Big Dave has told me that story a couple times, so it was interesting to hear the other side. Dave's story is pretty much the same.