There are three local sites that we tend to associate with our Strathroy – Caradoc veterans; the cenotaph in the downtown core, the Legion Hall, and the cemetery where many are buried. On the front face of the cenotaph, there are 53 names engraved of veterans of World War I. On the side face of the cenotaph, there are 17 names engraved of veterans of World War II. Many of these men and women are buried elsewhere in Canada or overseas, and some have their names inscribed on monuments overseas. For some their actual burial site is unknown.
The Strathroy – Caradoc Lions, in cooperation with Branch #116 Arthur Currie Legion, the I.O.D.E. Mary Armstrong Chapter Strathroy, and the Municipality of Strathroy – Caradoc, has created a “Veterans Memorial Way”.
This project connects the central cenotaph area, past the Legion Hall site, to the Strathroy cemetery. This route is our Strathroy – Caradoc “Veterans Memorial Way”.
There are four (4) main parts to this project:
1) The installation of metal ‘banner murals” with full-colour images on utility poles between the cenotaph and the Legion Hall, and to the cemetery.
2) The reconstruction of the wall along the cenotaph sidewalk.
3) The installation of bronze, engraved plaques on the top, angled, surface of the new wall, with cast engravings of each veteran’s name(s), the name of the battalion or fighting group he was in when he died, and the crest/badge/emblem of that battalion. There is a separate plaque for each battalion. There were a few veterans who were in the same battalion when they died.
4) A recognition display inside the foyer of the library/museum with the names of sponsors of the project was part of the original agreement among the parties but the Municipality reneged on their obligations. This would have been similar to and located beside, the recognition display regarding the Currie Monument project.
5) An additional aspect of the project was to be the development of an electronic information source to be used for educational purposes with a phone app. to guide visitors at the site. The Strathroy – Caradoc Museum has a “Virtual War Memorial” on its website. Here can be found brief biographies for each of the veterans named on the Strathroy and Mount Brydges cenotaphs.
It is the intent of this website, privately operated, to provide supplemental information about each of the veterans named on the Strathroy cenotaph, about the battalions they were enlisted in when they served, and about events prior to, during and after World Wars I and II that are useful to an understanding of why our citizens ‘went off to war’ and what happened to them when they were there.
In some cases, the webmaster has discovered detailed historical records that describe events during specific battles where our veterans (s) were killed. We now have access to battle plan maps, battalions historians’ reports, and in some cases military records of individual veterans. This information will provide a more detailed “picture” of life on the lines for those of us who have come after them, and reinforce in a strong, emotional manner the commitment and sacrifice of these men and women.
There is a web page on this site where local citizens can tell the stories of their family members who were veterans, but who are not on the local cenotaphs. This may be because their family predecessor lived elsewhere than the Strathroy area, served in a different armed force, or for a different country.
There will also be a web page for anecdotal stories that have been passed down through families about “life during wartime”. These stories will be told by local citizens, but about a previous time, maybe in a different place (Canada, Britain, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Indonesia, Italy, Korea, Russia, Austria – Hungary, Africa, anywhere where life was affected by the war(s).
This website is a long-term work in progress. The webmaster would appreciate any documentary information you may have to make this source more complete and as accurate as possible. Just email us at royboysask@gmail.com.
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