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Walter Kettlewell was a Leader of the Growth of Wood Vallance Hardware Company in Nelson, BC

June 13, 2025

Someone on my family tree that I have long been curious about is Walter Charles Kettlewell (1889-1942), who was a first cousin of my grandfather R.L. McBride (1881-1959). They both were born and raised in London, Ontario, where McBride family immigrants settled after leaving Northern Ireland for Canada in 1831. Walter was a son of Noah Kettlewell and Kate McBride, who was a sister of R.L. McBride’s father Richard McBride.

Walter Kettlewell, leaning, front right, at about age 10 in 1899 in London, Ontario. Beside him to his left are his cousin Fraser McPherson and brother Keith Kettlewell on far left. Behind them, from left to right, are Walter and Keith’s mother Kate McBride Kettlewell, aunt Martha McBride, aunt Mary McBride, and cousin Ruth McBride.

My dad Leigh McBride often mentioned Walter Kettlewell as a driving force behind the remarkable growth of the Nelson-based Wood Vallance Hardware Company which, at its peak, had a service area as far north as Revelstoke, east to the Alberta border, south to the U.S. border, and west to the Okanagan and even as far as Princeton. The company helped Nelson become known as a centre of commerce — not just mining and logging.

In 1907 R.L. McBride as general manager of Wood Vallance invited Walter and his brother W. Keith Kettlewell (1892-1954) to come west to Nelson to work with Wood Vallance. Soon after, their parents Noah (1850-1910) and Kate (1857-1952) moved to Nelson, where they lived the rest of their lives.

Keith would work for Wood Vallance in Nelson, serve in the First World War, and later settle in Trail where he managed Cominco’s hardware store for a number of years. In that era, Cominco was a substantial customer of Wood Vallance, and its president S.G. Blaylock had Wood Valllance manage part of Cominco’s purchasing function. My dad told me that his father and assistant Les McEachern would drive from Nelson to Trail every Thursday for purchasing meetings.

Walter’s job title for many years at Wood Vallance was “traveller”, which took him on the road to gain new customers for the company, and also develop successful relationships with suppliers. As a very active and enthusiastic Mason, Walter had “brothers” in virtually every community, who welcomed him with open arms, which was a big help in spreading the word about Nelson and Wood Vallance.

I was recently very pleased to hear from Walter’s grandaughter Leah who thought I might be interested in her collection of Kettlewell and Hanna family photographs. While Walter was before my time, I well remember his wife Elva Hanna Kettlewell (1896-1964), who was a teacher at Central School when I was there, and very well-known as a community volunteer, notably as a counsellor at Camp Koolaree.

*Walter, third from left, top row, with other gymnastic team members, 1913.*

These photos show how Walter was “a picture of health” in Nelson sports clubs before World War One, including several gymnastic formations. Walter survived the war and technically was not injured, but damage to his health from trench warfare would bother him for the rest of his life.

The Nelson Daily News articles posted here include a report of Walter and Elva’s wedding, as well as death notices that reflect on Walter’s life.

*Private Walter Kettlewell in uniform in World War One*

*Walter married Elva Hanna in 1930. Pictured here are from left: A.C. Emory, Elva Kettlewell, Walter Kettlewell, and Ina Stee*d.

Walter Kettlewell was a Leader of the Growth of Wood Vallance Hardware Company in Nelson, BC

*News reports of Walter’s death and funeral in 1942.*

*Walter’s younger brother W. Keith Kettlewell on horseback.* *He was among the wounded in World War One.* He came to Nelson from Ontario with Walter and their parents, Noah and Kate Kettlewell.

Nelson Daily News Sept. 15, 1954 report of death of Keith Kettlewell at age 64.

80 years since the famous Seaforth Christmas dinner at Ortona in WW2

December 30, 2023

by Sam McBride

Eighty years ago my father Leigh Morgan McBride and his younger brother Kenneth Gilbert McBride were lieutenants of the Vancouver-based Seaforth Highlanders of Canada regiment in the thick of one of the fiercest battles of WW2, the Battle of Ortona (Dec. 20-28, 1943). Against all odds, the Seaforths were able to enjoy a very brief, but much appreciated, Christmas dinner in a church just a few blocks from the building-to-building and hand-to-hand fighting. It was one of the few “feel good” stories to come out of the war at that time.

1944 would be a tough year for the McBride family, as Leigh was seriously wounded and lost an eye from grenade shrapnel in the attack on the Hitler Line in May. Some German soldiers found him unconscious and took him as a prisoner for medical treatment. He was listed as “missing in action” for four months until word came from the Red Cross in September that he was alive and recovering at a hospital in Germany. His parents were in the middle of celebrating the good news about Leigh when a telegram arrived Ken and his driver were killed when their jeep ran over a road mine near Rimini. Leigh made it back to Nelson in a prisoner exchange in late January 1945.

Lieutenant Leigh Morgan McBride, one of the serving officers at the famous Christmas dinner in Ortona

After the war, Leigh made regular trips to Vancouver for treatment for his lingering injuries at the Shaughnessy Veterans Hospital. There was still some shrapnel left in his legs that years later would set off metal detectors at airports.

In 1975 Leigh was among 300 Canadian veterans to attend the 30th anniversary of the Italian Campaign led by Veterans Affairs minister Daniel McDonald, who himself was seriously injured in Italy, losing his left arm and leg in battle there. Leigh preferred to put the war behind him and normally did not participate in reunions, but was strongly encouraged by his Seaforth friends to go to this one, as it included a memorial ceremony at the Coriano Ridge cemetery which has Ken’s grave, which he had never visited.

Captain Kenneth Gilbert McBride (1920-1944), was a lieutenant along with his brother Leigh at Ortona in December 1943. He was killed in September 1944 near Rimini by a roadside mine.

The two-week-long reunion would be Leigh’s last visit to the battlefields and cemeteries in Italy, but the experience led him to take a great interest in Italian art and architecture, which would be — along with golf — his hobby for the rest of his life.