The Morgan's Of Winnipeg
Meet our Canadian Cousins
When researching the siblings of our great-grandfather John Phillips, we were excited to find a set of Canadian cousins. The line started with our 2nd great-aunt Anne Phillips of Greenmoor Farm in St Brides. Ann married William Morgan in 1875 and had six children, all born in St Brides. One of her sons, Archibald J.D. Morgan, left his home at the age of just 22 for a new life in Canada. Archie travelled with his brother William, and they headed to British Columbia where they spent a year working in a lumber camp. William then travelled to Africa whilst Archie headed to the city of Winnipeg.
In 1910 Archie married Florence Gardner. His wife had also arrived in Canada in 1904 and hailed from Morecombe in Lancashire. Archie and Florence had four children, all born in Winnipeg, who we are going to look in this story: Rhys 1913, Robert 1915, Nancy 1917 and Wynn in 1921.
Rhys Morgan
Rhys Gardener Phillips Morgan was born 17th March 1913 in Winnipeg, the first child of Archie and Florence. After attending school locally, Rhys went to the University of Manitoba. He graduated in 1936 with a degree in Civil Engineering and chose to pursue this as a career. He worked for many years as a Mining Engineer in Bissett, Manitoba. Bissett is situated on Rice Lake, two and a half hours northeast of Winnipeg. The discovery of gold in the community in 1911 made the region the cradle of gold mining in Manitoba
Rhys served in the Canadian Army during WWII and was based in Europe. Following his safe return to Canda he married Jeannette Tourin in 1946. Jeannette was of French descent and lived in the rural community of Storthoaks in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. She had grown up in a French speaking Catholic family with her siblings and parents, William and Gabrielle Tourin.
Rhys’ career went from strength to strength and by the 1950s he was the chief Engineer at a mine in Blissett. Rhys and Jannette had seven children, most were born, and spent their early years, in Blissett. They later moved back to Winnipeg for the later years of Rhys’ career where he worked as a Civil Engineer, and Jeannette as Teacher. They retired to British Columbia in 1979, first to Nanaimo and then to White Rock. As a hobby Rhys grew garden produce and entered numerous shows during his retirement, often winning multiple prizes.
Rhys passed away in White Rock, BC, on November 30, 2004, at the age of 91. He was survived by Jeannette, his wife of 55 years and children, Wynn, Nadine, Bill, Teresa, Nancy, David and Grant, and a large number of grandchildren. Rhys was buried at the Valley View Memorial Gardens in Surrey, BC. Jeannette died in 2015 and was laid to rest with him.
Robert ‘Bob’ Morgan
Robert Trevor Wadeson Morgan was born 18th May 1915 and grew up with his family in South Winnipeg. At school he did well academically and was also a keen sportsman, later making a name for himself as a talented amateur golfer. After school he attended university in Manitoba gaining a B.A. in 1936 and then Queen’s University where he received a B.Com in 1938
After completing his education he started his career by working in sales for Wood Gundy and Co., and soon rose to be a manager. Wood Gundy was a leading Canadian stock brokerage and investment banking firm, founded in 1905.
When WWII broke out Bob joined the Royal Canadian Navy and by 1940 had gained the rank of Acting Paymaster-Lieutenant. He was assigned to Naval HQ in Ottawa, Ontario where his commercial acumen was put to good use. Bob served there until the war ended in 1945 having been promoted to Commander at a very young age. One of his jobs was overseeing Naval Bills as they passed through the Canadian House of Commons.
Whilst serving in the navy, Lieutenant Morgan married Kathleen Margaret Davis on 12th April 1941. Margaret had also been born in Winnipeg after her Welsh father and Scottish mother had emigrated to Canada. Margaret had an elder brother Gordon and a twin named Frederick, prior to marrying Bob she worked for CBC Radio in Winnipeg. Bob and Margaret first lived together at 77 Oakland Road, Halifax Nova Scotia.
After leaving the navy Bob resumed his career and achieved considerable success as a Financial Executive, he was listed in the Canadian ‘Who’s Who’ in 1972. He rose to be the Vice-President and Director of Wood Gundy and Co., Director of Wood Gundy Securities Ltd. and the Governor of the Toronto Stock Exchange. They moved numerous times for Bob’s career and after Halifax lived in St. John, Ottawa, Edmonton, London, Ontario and finally a beautiful home on Beaumont Road in Toronto which is now listed as a heritage property. Robert and Margaret had two children, Robert and Lynn, and four grandchildren.
They enjoyed a long retirement and enjoyed numerous pastimes. They both played golf and were members of many clubs and societies, Bob was also a keen gardener, whilst Margaret had significant involvement with the National Ballet of Canada. Robert died on 21st June 1997 aged 82, he and Margaret had been married for 56 years. Margaret followed on 5th June 2003. They are both at rest in Toronto.
Nancy Morgan
Nancy Olwen Morgan was born on Boxing Day 1917 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She grew up with her family at 110 Norquay Street, a large wooden house. Nancy attended Riverbend School for Girls in Winnipeg and like her brothers showed a talent for sport and for learning. A yearbook from the school shows Nancy representing the Basketball B Team, and she was selected to give out prizes on behalf of the team at an awards ceremony.
Following school Nancy attended the University of Manitoba and in 1937 she was photographed as a senior representing the Home Economics Basketball Team. Nancy was an active member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity at university.
In 1941 her brother Robert married, and Nancy hosted an event for the bride-to-be Elizabeth at the Winter Club, a private, member-owned club in Winnipeg. Nancy would appear to be quite a socialite and hosted a number of events at various Winnipeg clubs, including a Breakfast Party at the St. Charles Country Club for Miss R.L. Bull.
Nancy had always dreamt of travelling and after the war she relocated to the USA. She told her family that she intended to try different cities and live in the one she liked best, San Franciso was the winner. Nancy secured a job with Coca Cola where she worked as a chemist and lived in an apartment on Filbert Street. She spent her whole career with Coca Cola and teased her family that she knew the ‘secret formula’ but would never reveal it!
Nancy became a US citizen on the 11th February 1964, age 46. Her petition was supported by friends Alice Donovan and Lois Riser. Although Nancy made a home in the US, flight records show she made several trips home to see her family, and following their retirement her parents, Archie and Nancy, travelled to California every year for a visit.
Nancy retired to Santa Rosa in California where she lived at Lawrence Way, a 1970s property with three bedrooms. Santa Rosa is a city in Sonoma County best known for its wineries. It is the fifth most populous city in the Bay Area and the population when Nancy arrived was around 110,000. Nancy died in Santa Rosa on the 2nd April 1995, aged 77.
Wynn Morgan
John Archibald Wynn Morgan was born on 7th June 1921, the last of four children for Archibald and Florence. Wynn followed his siblings and attended the local school before enrolling at Manitoba University. He then attended Queen’s University to study for a degree in Commerce, he was in his fourth year when WWII broke out and he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Wynn graduated as a pilot from Yorkton in April 1943. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) had opened the Service Flying Training School at RCAF Station Yorkton on 10th April 1941 and it operated until 1st December 1944. After graduation Wynn served with 433 (Porcupine) Squadron and was posted to Europe when he flew from Skipton-on-Swale in Yorkshire.
Wynn was reported missing on the night of 16th August 1944 when the entire crew of his plane failed to return to base after a bombing operation in Kiel, Germany. They had taken off from Skipton-on-Swale at 21.34 hrs. in a Handley Page Halifax III. Wynn was Initially listed as Missing In Action, presumed dead.
Information provided to the International Red Cross by the Germans, later confirmed that Flt. Lt Morgan had been killed. The plane was shot down at 4400 metres by a night fighter off Fyn Island in Denmark and crashed into the Baltic Sea. All of the crew manged to bail and deploy their parachutes before the plane exploded. Four of the crew including Wynn drowned, whilst two were rescued from the water and captured by enemy forces. They were later released safely.
Wynn has a grave at Sonderby Churchyard in Denmark where there is also a memorial plaque on the church wall. Sonderby is a village about 10 kilometres south-east of the town of Assens, in Fyn. There is a further memorial near the crash site, and In 1995 Morgan Island in Pikwitonei Lake, Manitoba was named for Wynn.
The renaming was part of a project to create an interactive map entitled ‘Commemorting Candada at War’. The map serves to commemorate Canada’s participation in armed conflicts at home and abroad by highlighting a sample of the many geographical features and places named for those that served the country.
Postscript
Through our research we for fortunate to make contact with Robert Morgan and his wife Karen in Canada. Robert is the son of Bob and Kathleen Morgan.
Robert and Karen have been generous with their time, checking our findings and sharing their memories. They also provided this wonderful family photo taken by Bob Morgan in 1970. It was taken at the 60th wedding anniversary of Archie and Florence and features, from left to right, Jeannette, Rhys, Archie, Margaret, Florence, and Nancy with her royally named dogs, Victoria and Albert.