Saturday 25 September 2021

German Prisoners Kingston Ont., 1917

This captioned photo was posted to the Kingston Love Facebook group with the handwritten caption in this post's title. But where in Kingston? Far left gasification tank; middle wooden and stone structures, right a coach with a large crowd and sentries in foreground. 
I think it's plausible that these POW's are being escorted to Tete du Pont Barracks or directly to Fort Henry. The Grand Trunk had better connections to eastern Canada, so the single track may be GTR somewhere in the area of Place d'Armes/King/Barrack/Ontario Streets. Efforts to pinpoint location underway. Thanks to Marc Shaw for sharing this photo and correlating with fire insurance maps and aerial photos, plus city directories of the period!

Until we pinpoint, I'm adding images that may assist:
Fire insurance map, 1908 (above) and 1920 aerial view of the area (below):
If I could get the buildings confirmed, I think it's possible the single Grand Trunk track crossing Barrack Street near the gasification tank could be the location. Then a short escorted march down Ontario Street toward Tete du Pont or Fort Henry across the Causeway!

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