A Summerland historian would like to see more names added when the municipality of Summerland replaces the cenotaph in Memorial Park.
David Gregory, a historian who has chronicled much of Summerland’s history, said the municipality is planning to move and replace the cenotaph when Memorial Park is revitalized. The move would make the cenotaph a central feature of the park.
He said the list of names on the existing Summerland cenotaph is incomplete. There are 31 fallen soldiers from the First World War and five from the Second World War he says are not currently listed.
In addition, there are at least 18 spelling mistakes in the names listed on the cenotaph at present.
“We’ve been working on this for years,” Gregory said.
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In 2007, Gregory and former museum curator Sherril Foster coauthored the book, Summerland Remembers, providing details about Summerland’s fallen soldiers during the two world wars.
In addition, the Remembrance Street Banner program was initiated and a cenotaph committee has been created as efforts to honour fallen soldiers.
“This research has disclosed the fact that there are errors on our existing cenotaph and also that many names of our fallen soldiers are missing from the cenotaph,” Gregory said.
In addition to adding names to the cenotaph, Gregory is calling for the plaque on the front of the cenotaph to be rewritten. The present wording, In Memory of Our Boys of Summerland, is incorrect as Olive Millicent de Satge de Thoren, who belonged to the Voluntary Aid Detachment, died while caring for the injured in the United Kingdom during the First World War. Gregory has proposed changing the wording to In Memory of Summerland’s Fallen.
The cenotaph committee created the criteria for the selection of names for the cenotaph as follows.
• The fallen lived or worked in Summerland
• The parents of the fallen lived in Summerland.
• The fallen were former residents of Summerland. This includes those who were students of Okanagan College and those that worked in Summerland prior to the First World War.
• Summerland soldiers who died post-war and whose deaths in their military files are recorded as attributed to military service or the family received the Memorial plaque and their mother or wife received the Memorial Cross.
Those with information on Summerland’s fallen soldiers are asked to contact the Summerland branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. This includes those with pictures of those who died in military service. Information and pictures can be sent to media@summerlandlegion.com.
The following names, followed by their service numbers, are to be added to the cenotaph. The service numbers will not be included.
First World War
Lewis, BLOCK, 1260432,
Clifford Norman BORTON 706361
Thomas, BRENNAN, 781523,
Percy Douglas Sinclair BROAD 475375
William Edward Lee BROAD Lieutenant
Thomas Harold BROAD Captain
Wm Murray COCHRANE, 911976
John CORNER, 706365
Harold DEWAR, Lieutenant
Wm Ivan DUNHAM, 524317,
Francis “Frank” EDGAR, Lieutenant
Frank FOX 443792
Herbert Lynn GAINER 231753,
Lloyd Elson GAINER 811841.
Oswald Jacob, HANNAH, 466799,
John Stanley JOSLIN 152859.
George Harold, LEE, 622554,
Wm Lee MAWHINNEY, Lieutenant
Alexander Adamson, MELVILLE, 181136.
Volney Norris MERRILL, 522882
Huson Grand MURRAY 77534
Alfred Ethelbert NELSON 116271
Gordon, C. PERRY, SGT 1st Class, USA Army.
George Phillip RAU 72172
William Henry TAYLOR. 887715
George Owen THOMSON 320
James THOMSON 8957
Andrew Rutherford THOMSON. Captain
Wm Holmes, WALKER, 476833
Wm Arthur, WILCOX, 77572
Francis Anthony Cedric WRIGHT 77080.
Second World War
Rae Becton, GORDON Captain
Patrick Picton, NISBET, (R/261668)
Clyde Albert, STEWART (H/19827)
William James, WHITE (K/70263)
Andrew, WILSON, (R/128841)
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