November 13, 2018.  This year, Pieter was invited to be the guest speaker at St John The Evangelist Anglican Church in Crapaud, during their Remembrance Day Service.  In his opening remarks, Pieter noted that: “This special Remembrance Day marks the end of the First World War.  It’s a day to remember the memories and sacrifices made by those who did their best to answer the call to fight for freedom. 

This church remembers those who served through the Honour Rolls that hang on the wall to my left.  Every Remembrance Day, the names are read out, as they were today.  Five of these men are listed on the Cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion, 3 from WW1 and 2 from WW2.  I’d like to briefly tell you a bit about them.”

Pieter with Rev Eric Lynk at St John the Evangelist Anglican Church in Crapaud. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

Pieter then talked about the following men: Arthur Leigh COLLETT, Percy Earl FARROW (FARRAR), Henry “Harry” Warburton STEWART, William Douglas SHERREN, and Ernest Murray NORTON.  One focus was on how they were remembered, as Pieter explained:  “When we think of soldiers in war, we picture them in trenches, facing an enemy.  But they were also people with hopes and dreams, just like you and me, who made the difficult choice to put aside their immediate futures and accept the duty thrust upon them.“

Remembrance Day is now over for another year, but the Borden-Carleton Cenotaph Research Project continues in its quest to put a face and story to every name.  This posting is to thank the many people who have supported this project by providing information and photos, and in adding their own voices to the importance of remembrance.

The County Line Courier newspaper has supported this project from the beginning.  We thank Mike and Isabel Smith for helping to get the word out by publishing a story in almost every issue.

CBC PEI Radio has also been supportive in helping us reach a wider audience, with a special thank you to Angela Walker of CBC’s Mainstreet PEI.

We thank the three churches in the South Shore area that invited Pieter to come and speak about the Cenotaph Research Project:  Central Trinity United Church in Breadalbane, St John The Evangelist Anglican Church in Crapaud, and South Shore United Church in Tryon.

Several ministers referenced the project or some of the names on the Cenotaph in their sermons.  Rev Dr Karen MacLeod-Wilkie of South Shore United Church made mention of the project and PEI pilot Elmer Bagnall MUTTART in her November 4 sermon.  Our thanks to Jack Sorensen for sending us this sound clip:  https://soundcloud.com/user-756553111/rev-karens-remarks-about-elmer-muttart-november420182/s-uCEps.

We also thank Rev Kent Compton of the Church of Scotland in Cape Traverse.  We’ve been informed by neighbours that he mentioned the project in his remarks during the Remembrance Service organized by the Augustine Cove Women’s Institute.

We thank the Tryon & Area Historical Society here on PEI and the Missing Airmen Memorial Foundation in The Netherlands for their efforts to raise funds for a memorial panel in Wons to honour Elmer Muttart and the crew of Halifax L9561, and we thank all who donated to this project.  The ceremony to install the memorial panel is planned for October 12, 2019.

On November 1, 2018, PEI Senator Mike Duffy spoke about the Cenotaph Research Project in the Senate.  It’s now recorded in the official Hansard records, and we thank him for highlighting this project of remembrance. (See Hansard entry: 2018 Hansard Entry remarks by Mike Duffy ) Mr. Duffy went one step further, by submitting an article to the newspaper with his comments, a complete surprise to us when we opened up the newspaper.  (See article:  CLC Nov 7 2018 p15 article by Mike Duffy)

Meeting the families of the men listed on the Cenotaph is a particular honour.  We thank those who sent photos, letters, documents, and hope to meet more families in the coming year.

We also thank you, the readers of these postings.   Research continues, and we hope you will enjoy the stories in upcoming blog postings.

If you have photos or information to share on soldiers from the Cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion, please let us know. Send us an email to dariadv@yahoo.ca or comment on this blog.

© Daria Valkenburg