The Icelandic connection - 01.12.2020, Side 33

Vol. 71 #4
ICELANDIC CONNECTION
175
Captain Christopher O’Kelly returned
to Winnipeg and took a job selling real
estate. O’Kelly, rejoined his old militia
unit, the Winnipeg Rifles in 1921 and
was promoted to Major in March of
1922. Tragically however, on Nov. 15th,
1922, Christopher O’Kelly and another
companion Bill Murray, whose father was
part owner of the real-estate firm O’Kelly
had been working for, drowned accidentally
in a motorized canoe on a prospecting
trip for gold near Lac Seul in Northern
Ontario. His body was never found.
Christopher’s sudden death was ironically
noted by one author, “here was a man who
had survived some of the bloodiest battles
in WWI, only to meet such a tragic death
in a simple boating accident”.
An article in The Tribune on July
18th, 1927, reported that a stone Celtic
cross had been placed on a pyramid of
stones on a grassy knoll at Camp Morton,
a few kilometers north of Gimli. The
monument was raised on the auspices of
the Roman Catholic Church, which had
established a summer camp for children at
the site in 1920. Major O’Kelly’s Victoria
Cross, Military Cross, British War Medal,
and Victory Medal were donated to the
Canadian War Museum in 1970 by his two
sisters, Mrs. Margaret M. Wall and Mrs.
Monica Kiely. The Ecole O’Kelly School
for children of military personnel at
Canadian Forces Base Shilo in Manitoba
was named in his honour in 1976. The
Government of Manitoba recognized the
bravery and courage of the 14 Manitoba
Victoria Cross recipients including Major
O’Kelly by naming provincial lakes in
their honour through the Manitoba
Geographical Names Program. O’Kelly
Lake is located between the communities
of Bloodvein along the east shore of Lake
Winnipeg and Little Grand Rapids along
the west shore of Family Lake, and is 248
kilometers northeast of Winnipeg.
References
Bruce Cherney, O’Kelly Winnipeg
War Hero, Real Estate News (Parts 1-4)
Manitoba Free Press articles 1916 - 1927
The Battle of Vimy Ridge - Canadian
War Museum Ottawa Ontario
Canadian Great War Project -
Canadians in the First World War
Canadian Expeditionary Force —
Wikipedia
C.E.F.,” Military Collectors Club of
Canada The Journal, 148 (Spring 1987), 20-
22.
George J. Romick, “Captain C.P.J.
O’Kelly Northwestern Ontario’s Only
Victoria Cross Winner 52nd Bn
Manitoba Provincial Archives
Royal Winnipeg Rifles Regimental
Museum
Victoria Cross Recipients — Canada.ca
ICELANDIC
NATIONAL LEAGUE
OF NORTH AMERICA
Founded in 1919 by Icelandic
immigrants to preserve and
promote Icelandic heritage
Today anyone with an interest
in Iceland is welcome to join