Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Alban’s Anglican Church / Blenheim Cemetery (Municipality of Prairie View)

A site south west of Birtle in the Municipality of Prairie View was occupied by St. Alban’s Anglican Church and its cemetery. Constructed in 1903 using local fieldstones, supervised by local farmer Christopher T. Winter, the church was closed in 1986 and demolished. A monument in the cemetery commemorates local men who were killed during service in the First World War. A second monument commemorates the former church.

Remembrance Day service at St. Alban’s Anglican Church

Remembrance Day service at St. Alban’s Anglican Church (no date)
Source: Audrey & Duncan Waddell

St. Alban’s Anglican Church

St. Alban’s Anglican Church (August 1959)
Source: Charles Durham Bird

Interior of St. Alban’s Anglican Church

Interior of St. Alban’s Anglican Church (August 1959)
Source: Charles Durham Bird

Blenheim Cemetery with war memorial monument at left

Blenheim Cemetery with war memorial monument at left (March 2016)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

Blenheim commemorative monument

Blenheim commemorative monument (March 2016)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

Site Location (lat/long): N50.35928, W101.08431
denoted by symbol on the map above

First World War

Name

Occupation

Service

Rank

Birth Date

Death Date

Frederick William Barnes MM
[Birtle, Minnedosa]

Jeweller

8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry

Sergeant

17 October 1895

31 August 1918

Robert Stoddart Gregg
[Portage]

Farmer

1st Canadian Mounted Rifles

Private

23 August 1896

15 September 1916

James Coleman Kirk

Clerk

3rd Battalion, Canadian Machine Gun Corps

Private

23 November 1882

27 September 1918

Neil Stuart Malcolm
[Birtle]

?

Royal Field Artillery, British Army

Bombardier

? July 1875

13 November 1916

Arthur E. Nealing

?

?

?

?

?

Reginald Drake Palmer
[Miniota]

Teamster

1st Canadian Mounted Rifles

Corporal

25 September 1890

1 October 1916

Henry Stansfield “Harry” Rake
[Birtle, Miniota]

Farmer

43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry

Private

5 August 1887

26 October 1917

Sources:

A list of burials in this cemetery is available from the Manitoba Genealogical Society, including a searchable online database available to members at the MGS Manitoba Name Index (MANI). Some additional information is contained in the 1996 MGS publication Carved in Stone: Manitoba Cemeteries and Burial Sites, revised edition, Special Projects Publication, 106 pages.

We thank Ron Bell, Brenda Samchuk, Charles Durham Bird, and Audrey & Duncan Waddell for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Darryl Toews.

Page revised: 16 November 2020

Historic Sites of Manitoba

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