James Mitchell

Lt. Col. Semmens

/ Matthew K Barrett / Leave a comment

Lieutenant Colonel J.N. Semmens
78th (Winnipeg Grenadiers) Battalion

… it will act like a wild tornado to fan the flame of anger that burns within us now when we see the cryptic phrase, “Remember Hong Kong.” That anger is not alone aimed at the Japanese but at anything that impedes or hampers the all-out effort of this country of ours. To the Winnipeg Grenadiers it means grim preparedness.

(Col. Semmens, Ottawa Citizen, 11 Mar 1942, 3)

Born in Toronto on 7 October 1879, John Nelson Semmens was a Winnipeg architect and militia captain in the Winnipeg Grenadiers. He first joined the 100th Battalion under the command of fellow architect Lieutenant Colonel J.B. Mitchell before transferring to the 78th to act as second-in-command. He assumed temporary command during Battle of Passchendaele until Lieutenant Colonel James Kirkcaldy recovered from his wound in March 1918.

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The School Builder

/ Matthew K Barrett / Leave a comment

Lieutenant Colonel J. B. Mitchell
100th (Winnipeg Grenadiers) Battalion

Mitchell

His figure is as erect as of yore in defiance of his 88 years. He embodies the spirit of those Scarlet Riders who brought law and order to the plains, brought joy to law-abiding folk and spread dismay among the lawless. This picturesque personality is Col. J. B. Mitchell, clear-eyed, soft-spoken, alert as becomes those who are still interested in current events and “tomorrow.” His long service in military and civilian life has not drooped those massive shoulders, nor bowed the finely-posed head. Lacking but two inches of six feet, he is so well sot up that an observer would scarcely suspect his weight to be 200 pounds. That’s what athletic training and outdoor life will do for a busy man.

(Col. G. C. Porter, Winnipeg Tribune, 30 Nov 1940, 36)

James Bertram Mitchell was Architect and Commissioner of School Buildings and Supplies in Manitoba from 1892 until his retirement in 1928. Born on 14 October 1852 in Gananocque, Canada West, Mitchell was an adventurer, policeman and civic leader. At the age of fourteen, he volunteered as a bugler in the militia and participated in the Fenian Raid of 1866. During the second Fenian invasion scare in 1870, he guarded the Welland Canal at Cornwall. In 1874,  he joined the North West Mounted Police.

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