July 27, 2017.  Welcome to this blog about the Borden-Carleton Cenotaph Research Project!  This is a labour of love, done in gratitude by Dutch-born Canadian Pieter Valkenburg, the researcher, and his wife Daria, who writes about his findings.

The project began in 2016 as a way to find out more about the 46 names on the cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion, in an attempt to put a face and story to every name listed.

With a lot of hard work digging through war diaries, and reading of soldier records found at Library and Archives Canada, and the cooperation of the families of these soldiers in providing photos and letters written by them, we have been able to identify 45 of the 46 names.  Along the way, we found 2 more that were inadvertently missed.  So now the cenotaph has 48 names!

It’s been an amazing journey so far.  We are awed at the stories we’ve uncovered about the men (they are all men on this cenotaph) that gave their lives in the fight for freedom in WWI and WWII.  We’ve met many dedicated people trying to preserve histories, and we cherish the many new acquaintances we’ve made.  Thank you!

In this blog, some key findings will be shared.  Articles will be posted as they appear in news media.  And a wish list of photos and information will be an appeal for assistance from you, our readers, and fellow researchers.

The next few blogs will catch you up to the stories we’ve uncovered so far.