Remembrance Day

A ceremony at Lakeview Memorial Cemetery on May 8, 2022 (Brittany Webster - Capital News)

Memorial ceremony in Kelowna disrupted when woman drives over graves

People were gathered at Lakeview Memorial Cemetery to mark the anniversary of the end of WWII

  • May 9, 2022

 

Four women are seen standing on either side of stacks of plywood, moving the top piece into the dryers at Alberni Plywoods Ltd., circa 1948. A metal bar in the centre of the machine reads “NO. 2”. At the far right, a sign can be seen that reads “In Case of Fire Break Glass Here. The female workers at AlPly became known as the ‘Plywood Girls’ during the Second World War. The plant was rushed into production in 1942 on the site now known as Canal Beach in order to help Canada’s war effort. This photo is one of 24,000 that comprise the Alberni Valley Museum’s digital photo archives. The archives are accessible to the public at https://portalberni.pastperfectonline.com. (PHOTO PN13192 COURTESY ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM)

A LOOK BACK: The Plywood Girls of Port Alberni

Take a peek at Alberni Valley history with the AV Museum

 

A sign at the Winfield Cenotaph tells people looking for the Remembrance Day ceremony on Nov. 11, 2021 that the event has been cancelled due to a threat of violence. (Bobbi DiMaggio/Facebook)

Threat of violence directed at B.C. Remembrance Day ceremony

Ceremony location changed after threat that “somebody might get killed” if United Nations flag flown

 

A woman lays a wreath at the cenotaph in Hope on Remembrance Day. (Bill Dobbs photo)

Remembrance Day gatherings disrupted in British Columbia

Incidents in Kelowna and Kamloops mar Nov. 11 gatherings

A woman lays a wreath at the cenotaph in Hope on Remembrance Day. (Bill Dobbs photo)
The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 293 had a Remembrance Day themed window display on Third Avenue in the Windows of Hope contest. (PHOTO COURTESY COULSON GROUP OF COMPANIES)

Port Alberni Legion branch recovers after COVID-19

Pandemic shut down hall rentals and all large events

The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 293 had a Remembrance Day themed window display on Third Avenue in the Windows of Hope contest. (PHOTO COURTESY COULSON GROUP OF COMPANIES)
Captain Michael Ramsay reads a prayer at the Hupacasath First Nation cemetery on Remembrance Day 2021. (ELENA RARDON / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)

Port Alberni remembers

2021 Remembrance Day ceremony was an outdoor one due to COVID-19

Captain Michael Ramsay reads a prayer at the Hupacasath First Nation cemetery on Remembrance Day 2021. (ELENA RARDON / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)
Winnie Koal (left) and Elsie Forbes are long-time members of the Royal Canadian Legion in Port Alberni. (PHOTOS COURTESY ORLANDO DELANO)

REMEMBRANCE DAY: Long-time Legion members share their stories

Elsie Forbes and Winnie Koal have both been Legion members for almost 50 years

  • Nov 11, 2021
Winnie Koal (left) and Elsie Forbes are long-time members of the Royal Canadian Legion in Port Alberni. (PHOTOS COURTESY ORLANDO DELANO)
The ‘Immortal Poppy’ NFT. (Royal Canadian Legion)

‘The Immortal Poppy’: Canadian Legion sells NFTs for 100th anniversary

The Legion is selling poppy NFTs this year for the 100 year anniversary of the Canadian poppy

  • Nov 11, 2021
The ‘Immortal Poppy’ NFT. (Royal Canadian Legion)
Alberni Valley Museum assistant Amy Vandal stands in front of a display of wartime artefacts and medals upstairs at the museum in Port Alberni. Many of the items will be available to view during the week of Remembrance Day during regular museum hours. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)

War memorabilia on exhibit at Alberni Valley Museum

Every item, from uniform pieces to gas masks and insignia, tells a story to remember

Alberni Valley Museum assistant Amy Vandal stands in front of a display of wartime artefacts and medals upstairs at the museum in Port Alberni. Many of the items will be available to view during the week of Remembrance Day during regular museum hours. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)
The Chief of Naval Staff inspects a Japanese shell from Estevan Point on July 9, 1942. (LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA/DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENCE fonds/a134083)

REMEMBRANCE DAY: Estevan Point lighthouse shelled by enemy craft

Vancouver Island lighthouse was the scene of the only Second World War conflict on Canadian soil

The Chief of Naval Staff inspects a Japanese shell from Estevan Point on July 9, 1942. (LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA/DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENCE fonds/a134083)
A large maple tree provides shade to those resting in the Hupacasath cemetery on Josephine Street. Annual Remembrance Day ceremonies in the Alberni Valley stop in this sacred place to honour Indigenous veterans from Hupacasath First Nation who are buried there. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)

First Nations veterans honoured in Port Alberni

A number of Nuu-chah-nulth members from the region are veterans of various world conflicts…

A large maple tree provides shade to those resting in the Hupacasath cemetery on Josephine Street. Annual Remembrance Day ceremonies in the Alberni Valley stop in this sacred place to honour Indigenous veterans from Hupacasath First Nation who are buried there. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)
Tamas Zalatnai dances with a Hungarian dance troupe after serving with the Hungarian Air Force in the late 1960s. (PHOTO COURTESY OF TAMAS ZALATNAI)

THEN AND NOW: Port Alberni man’s military memories too painful to keep mementos

Conscription in Communist army forced Tamas Zalatnai to make life-changing decision

  • Nov 11, 2021
Tamas Zalatnai dances with a Hungarian dance troupe after serving with the Hungarian Air Force in the late 1960s. (PHOTO COURTESY OF TAMAS ZALATNAI)
Jiskje Randles of Port Alberni shares photos of her father and father-in-law who fought in the Second World War. Randles was at a craft fair in the Alberni Athletic Hall. (SONJA DRINKWATER/ Special to the AV News)

THEN AND NOW: Daughter remembers her father’s service

Father and father-in-law both served in Second World War

  • Nov 11, 2021
Jiskje Randles of Port Alberni shares photos of her father and father-in-law who fought in the Second World War. Randles was at a craft fair in the Alberni Athletic Hall. (SONJA DRINKWATER/ Special to the AV News)
A hanger on the site of a Second World War airfield that was part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan is seen near Claresholm, Alta., on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. The plan was a major program for Allied aircrews. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

‘We managed to survive’: Abandoned Second World War training airfields fading away

Hank Jackson, 100, was a tail gunner on a Halifax bomber

A hanger on the site of a Second World War airfield that was part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan is seen near Claresholm, Alta., on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. The plan was a major program for Allied aircrews. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Sentinels stand guard during the Remembrance Day ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on November 11, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Canadians welcomed to attend Remembrance ceremonies, told to wear masks and distance

Some restrictions and changes will nonetheless remain in place as COVID-19 continues to pose a threat

Sentinels stand guard during the Remembrance Day ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on November 11, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
The late Garnet Reynolds sits with his wife Mildred in 2002 prior to receiving armorial bearings from the Governor General of Canada (March 2002). (PHOTO COURTESY REYNOLDS FAMILY)

THEN AND NOW: Remembering a man for his service beyond the military

Garnet Reynolds went from working on tanks to working on humans as a chiropractor

  • Nov 11, 2021
The late Garnet Reynolds sits with his wife Mildred in 2002 prior to receiving armorial bearings from the Governor General of Canada (March 2002). (PHOTO COURTESY REYNOLDS FAMILY)
Remembrance Day ceremonies have provided people with the opportunity to consider the sacrifices made by those who served during times of war. Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many ceremonies have been cancelled or are held online only. (Black Press file photo)

QUIZ: A time for remembrance

How much do you know about times of war?

Remembrance Day ceremonies have provided people with the opportunity to consider the sacrifices made by those who served during times of war. Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many ceremonies have been cancelled or are held online only. (Black Press file photo)
2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the poppy campaign. (SUSAN QUINN / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)

100 years of poppies

2021 marks the 100-year anniversary of Canada’s Remembrance Day poppy campaign

2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the poppy campaign. (SUSAN QUINN / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)
Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence Minister Lawrence MacAulay responds to a question during a news conference in Ottawa on November 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Government will hire more staff to address veterans’ backlog, caseloads: minister

Announcement made in the wake of 5-part Canadian Press series on veteran’s issues

Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence Minister Lawrence MacAulay responds to a question during a news conference in Ottawa on November 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Remembrance Day is Nov. 11. (File - Sooke News Mirror)

EDITORIAL: Nov. 11 is a time to remember the price we paid for war, and to never forget

The observance is an acknowledgement of the high cost of war…

Remembrance Day is Nov. 11. (File - Sooke News Mirror)