(Image of 20th Annual Honouring Our Local Veterans Ceremony) Photo provided by Emily Jolliffe
The Billy Bishop Museum and Royal Canadian Legion Branch 6 will be holding a ceremony for the 21st Annual Honouring Our Local Veterans Ceremony this weekend.
The private event will be occurring on Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. at the Owen Sound Legion, where seven veterans from Grey and Bruce counties who served and sacrificed for their country will be recognized.
A release notes, the program has honoured the service of over 180 Grey Bruce veterans who served in the First and Second World War, the Korean War, Cold War, and UN Peacekeeping Missions.
Billy Bishop Director and Curator Emily Jolliffe says through the ceremony, they want to show local veterans they want to honour them.
“Our local veterans need to know that we want to honour them and support them and appreciate everything that they have done for us in the past and not even the distant past, like those that have served for us more recently, such as Afghanistan and on the homefront as well,” says Jolliffe.
The invitation only event will be private so to follow Covid and Legion regulations.
Jolliffe says the ceremony will have the veterans or their family members sit at the front of the Legion Hall, as their biographies are read aloud, and they are handed plaques.
The veterans being honoured this year include:
Corporal Brian Kay of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Corporal Kay was an Airframe and Aviation Technician who was discharged in 2006 and worked on CC137 and 707 Boeings, Hercules and others.
Master Corporal John Stinson of the Canadian Armed Forces. Master Corporal Stinson was a Radio Operator who had served on maneuvers in Germany during the Gulf War and in Eritrea, Africa.
Gunner Alan Bishop of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. Gunner Bishop was with the 7th Brigade Canadian Field Artillery, who was killed at the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
Private George Grindley of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. Private Grindley was with the Fifth Canadian Field Ambulance and Canadian Army Medical Corp, and was killed at the Battle of the Somme. His name is on the Vimy Memorial, and has a no known grave in France.
Private Herb MacDonald of the Canadian Armed Forces. Private MacDonald was a Bren Gunner in the Lincoln and Welland Regiment during the Second World War, and was reportedly said to be a “fine marksman in action.”
Sergeant Henry (Harry) Cecil Davis of the Canadian Armed Forces. Sergeant Davis was with the Highland Light Infantry during World War Two and landed in Normandy at Bernieres-sur-Mer on D-Day.
Corporal Carl Stacey Hopkins of the Canadian Armed Forces. Corporal Hopkins has enlisted with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in 1940. Reportedly he would not talk about his experiences after the war and was discharged in 1946.
Once the ceremony is finished, Jolliffe says the plaques will be making their way around the community.
“After the ceremony is done, the plaques, that we create in house here, will go up at Seasons Retirement Community,” says Jolliffe. “They will be up at Seasons until Nov. 11 and after Remembrance Day, they go on to MP Alex Ruff’s office to be on display. After that they will be on display at Heritage Mall for the whole community to see. So they will be out for about a year, and then we return them to the veterans after that.”
Jolliffe says after the ceremony, she will be uploading the files of the most recent veterans to the website for residents to view.
For those who want to watch the ceremony, the video will be archived on the Billy Bishop Museum website and can be caught live by visiting the Roger TV YouTube channel.