Hard work by Bains gives new life to stories of local military members
Sharon A. Bain and Bruce King Bain have taken on a project to recognize military members buried in St Andrews On The Red Anglican Church Cemetery. This project involves putting flags on the graves of military members who have made their final resting place at the cemetery with the support of the No Stone Left Alone Memorial Foundation as well as the development of one-page stories detailing the lives of these veterans so that future generations can learn more about the contributions of community members of the past.
“It’s a snapshot into life in St Andrews and the surrounding area, because these soldiers came from more than St Andrews, and the purpose of the project was twofold. One was to put flags on the grave sites for all of the soldiers, regardless of what war or what non-war activity they did for the country,” said Amateur Historian Sharon Bain.
She explained that these people used to be our neighbours and fellow community members and as we move farther away from these wars, those memories of their service get lost to time. Bearing that in mind, she decided to find out about 53 military members who are buried in the cemetery and write one-page summaries of their lives to keep those memories available to current and future residents of our area.
“These people were people who went to the church or went to the grocery store or were at the hospitals or old age homes, or had children who worked while they were at war or had to deal with health issues both before and after the wars that they were in,” explained Bain.
She said that she learned many interesting stories throughout the creation of this project.
Though not a community member herself, Bain explained that during COVID she and her husband decided to use their time to get some things in order. The Bains purchased plots in the cemetery as she wanted to rest in a place that was an Anglican cemetery and her husband, having grown up in Nova Scotia, wanted to find a place close to water. St. Andrews on the Red fit their criteria perfectly.
The Bains then decided that they wanted to give a little back to the community that they would be a part of, with Bruce being a military member and both of them having military members in their families, this project made sense.
“Once we got the stone installed, we sort of wandered the gravesite and realized just how many military people were out there, and decided that we could create a connection with that community by doing this project because both of us feel strongly about supporting the military,” said Bain.
There are 53 military members who are buried in the cemetery on the left side which is the more modern space. Bain joked that there was no way she could have finished the project if she had included the more historic side of the cemetery.
Some of the information that Bain wrote about each soldier included details like:
- the different experiences of soldiers depending on which theatre of war they were in
- the economic and social impact of child labour between the 1890s and 1930s and its impact on volunteers for military service
- the role the men of the Métis community played
- medical issues and support experienced in war vs. back in Canada
- newspaper reporting of the names of each WW1 soldier who was missing in action, injured, killed on foreign soil or while a prisoner of war
- the different army vs. airforce experiences (eg. pilot vs infantry vs engineer)
- volunteering to serve vs. being drafted under Canadian legislation
Something that Bain said came up again and again in her research was the strong Métis contribution to the military that came from our area.
Another point that Bain found was that many of our community members volunteered for service.
“The number of people who enlisted for World War One before it was mandated. In Canadian history, for the World War One, there was no conscription initially. I only found one out of the 53 which was a required conscription. That, for me, was inspirational, that people felt compelled to help their country,” she said.
The soldier’s stories will be available in hard copy inside at the St. Andrews on the Red Church. To commemorate them further, flags will be placed on their gravesites starting Nov. 4 until Remembrance Day.
When Priest in Charge, Rev. Jim Kirkpatrick, learned about this project he was thrilled that the Bains were willing to volunteer their time and effort.
He encourages community members to take the time to come to the cemetery and check out the graves.
“We certainly want people to know that the community of St Andrews was a major part of our military history. During the First World War, there were a lot more individuals, who went overseas and didn’t come home. They’re all listed on the arch, but these are all the ones who aren’t listed there. These are just the ordinary men and women that served, whether overseas or in the military since the war,” said Kirkpatrick.
There will also be a special service that will acknowledge this project and our local veterans at St. Andrews on the Red on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 11:15 a.m.
