The City of Cambridge Honours Our Veterans Beginning in the late 1980’s and championed by City Councillor and veteran Bill Struck, the City of Cambridge established a street naming policy asking developers to select 50 per cent of the names for their new streets from the Veterans List maintained by the Cambridge Archives and Records Centre. Further research in 2002 by local historian Gerry Love and aided by Nancy Morrey added more names to the list. The Vet’s list now has more than 5,000 veterans and there are over 130 “Poppy Streets” in the city. Lynn Griggs Cambridge Archives & Records Centre January 2015 ii REMEMBRANCE Remembrance lies in simple things In the gathering of flowers And the pinning of poppies Solitary visits to silent graves Familiar names on headstones Remembrance is the echo of laughter down a staircase Which ends at the Wall of Honour It is the tear on a mother’s face And the trembling of a father’s hands We remember them all Without favourites or exemptions Civilians who mended aircraft Pilots who flew them into lonely and ominous skies Sailors whose card games lasted from war’s first declaration To the final call of ceasefire Soldiers who came home changed and uncertain And the families who stood beside them Silently battling enemies of their own Remembrance is simple It is the children whose humble gift is to gather flowers And remember someone they never knew It is those who pin poppies to honour the ones Who have gone ahead To call them back from memory From boot prints in the sand And shadows in the jungle To stand beside us one more time August 14, 2008 Nancy Olwen Morrey iii iv r Nancy Olwen Morrey was Artist in Residence (2005) for the City of Cambridge and received the Bernice Adams Award (2005) for Communication and Literary Arts. Her poetry and prose have been published in Canada, the United States, Serbia, Holland and Japan. In May 2002 she became the first Canadian to read for the Memorial Day Writers’ Project in Washington, D.C., as part of the Memorial Day services at the Vietnam Memorial Wall. She has read at Remembrance Day services in Ayr and Cambridge from 2001 to the present and was a guest speaker for the Ladies’ PROBUS Club of Cambridge in 2006. Nancy has been an associate member of the Officers’ Mess of the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada since 2005. Her interest in military history and her work with Veterans began in 1996. Gerry Love heard that Nancy wrote war poetry and had an interest in military history. Upon their meeting Gerry told her that he was researching the backgrounds of the veterans who had poppy streets named after them. It was a project that she had considered but hadn’t yet begun. Nancy was thrilled to learn someone had taken it on. When Gerry passed away Nancy contacted his widow Mary to find out what she was planning to do with Gerry’s research. Mary said it was in storage and that Nancy could have it if she wanted to look at it or continue the work. Nancy is more than pleased to see that the Poppy Streets project is ready to be shared. v vi Abbot Crescent Abbott, Albert Preston HLI WW II Grace Russ, Vol. 1 p. 28 395 Front Street, Preston; 2nd Bn. Highland Light Infantry of Canada (N.P.A.M.) Abbott, James Private Hespeler WW I Peace Souvenir p. 36 Private; Hespeler Alexander Avenue Alexander, Clement Lance Corporal Enlisted June ? Galt HLI of C 3rd Division. WWII Grace Russ Scrapbook Vol 1. pg 49 Photograph; Lance Corporal - assigned to D Co. after enlisting on June 19 - Born October 6, 1911 in Dundee, Scotland - Attended school in Scotland and Galt - textile worker before enlistment - previously served five years with the HLI of C. Wife and three children living at 21 Pollock Ave, Galt - Grandfather, father and four uncles served with the Royal Scots in WWI - Protestant Vol 1 pg.58 21 Pollock Avenue, Galt Vol 2 pg 42 Acting Lance Corporal promoted to Lance Corporal with 28 others Col. Barrie's List Reg. no. A37539; member of the 1st Bn; lived at 21 Pollock Avenue, Galt Obituary - Cambridge Reporter 14.4.1990 p. 19 D.O.D. Friday April 13, 1990; 74 years old; former employee of the Ministry of the Environment; member of Preston Legion Branch # 121 Alexander, H. Hespeler WW II 1 Grace Russ Scrapbooks Vol 1 pg 12 Listed on Hespeler Honour Roll Alexander Jack Lance Corporal, Enlisted January 1943 Hespeler Army WWII Grace Russ Scrapbooks Vol 4 Pg 1 Photograph; son of Mr & Mrs Samuel Alexander, Queen Street East, Hespeler; enlisted January 1943; training in Canada as a paratrooper; twin brother Ward and brother James also on active service; born in Ayrshire, Scotland; employed by Dominion Woollens before enlistment DW & W News Vol II No 8 Feb 1943 Enlisted Army DW & W News Vol II No 9 Mar 1943 A105789 Pte Jack Alexander A29 CITC No 4 Coy., No 1 Platoon Camp Ipperwash, Forest Ontario DW & W News Vol III No 6 Dec 1943 (photo) A105789 L/Cpl Jack Alexander Support Coy., No 7 Hut Princess of Wales Rgt. Debert N.S. Born Ayrshire Scotland Nov 4, 1924 - DW & W Apr 1941 - Enlisted January 12, 1943 with the Army - Station Debert Nova Scotia with the Princess of Wales Own Regiment DW & W News Vol III No 8 Feb 1944 A105789 L/Cpl Jack Alexander "A" Co No 9 Plt. 1st Battn Brockville Rifles Sydney NS DW & W News Vol III No 9 Mar 1944 "Personalities" Home on furlough from Syndey DW & W News Vol IV No 4 Oct 1944 Visits before leaving for Shilo Manitoba DW & W News Vol IV No 4 Oct 1944 A105789 Tpr Jack Alexander A35, CPTC T.S. Shilo Manitoba DW & W News Vol V No 1 Jul 1945 2 Arrived home with the first Battalion of Paratroopers DW & W News Vol V No 2 Aug 1945 Notice of Marriage - Flora Turner DW & W News Vol V No 5 Nov 1945 Discharged Alexander, James Corporal, Enlisted 1943 Galt Lincoln & Welland Regiment WWII, Military Medal Grace Russ Scrapbooks Vol 1 pg 12 Listed on Hespeler Honour Roll Vol 2 pg 25 Picture "Wounded Twice but blazed away at the Enemy" Corporal - lives at 14 William Street, Galt - son of Mr and Mrs Samuel Alexander Hespeler, Ontario Awarded the Military Medal last December "On September 9, 1944, 'A' company of the Lincoln and Welland Regment was holding and enlarging the bridgehead they had helped to seize the previous night across the Vaadeken Canal, at Moerbrugge. Opposition was particularly fierce, with enemy artillery and mortar fire as well as large volume of small arms fire from well dug-in positions. Cpl, Alexander was wounded about 10 a.m. and after having wounds dressed, requested and was allowed to remain with his company. An enemy counter-attack followed rapidly and Cpl Alexander was wounded by a 20mm shell which struck a wall close to his head and knocked him down. Ignoring both the wound of the morning and the wound he had just received, Cpl Alexander rallied his section, seized a Bren gun, and, propping himself against a wall, stood up fully exposed, to fire at the enemy and to cover the movement of a party of his own section that had become detached from the remainder. By his determination in the face of the enemy, his perseverance in spite of great physical pain and his inspiring leadership, with complete disregard for his own safety, Cpl Alexander set an example for his men to follow and was in great measure instrumental in enabling his company to advance and to beat of enemy counter- attacks" Has two brothers overseas - Now in England on instructional duty Vol 4 pg 1 3 Son of Mr & Mrs Samuel Alexander, Queen Street, Hespeler age 25 years - enlistment July 1943 - Born Ayrshire, Scotland - Occupation - Babcock Wilcox Goldie McCulloch before enlistment Vol 4 Pg 56 Photocopy - Picture Awarded the Military Medal by the King at Buckingham Palace, England - wife lives at 14 William Street, Galt - Received the Military Medal last Sept. while in action with the Lincoln and Wellington Regiment. Obituary D.O.D.: March 7, 2000 - 83rd year; lost his battle with A.L.S. (Lou Gehrig Disease); husband of Elsie Crowe, wife of 53 years; father of Becky and husband Dave Allen, Shelley, Jay and wife Karen and Jamie and wife Fran; grandfather of Kim, Kelly, Wes, Ben, Adam and Sarah; great-grandfather of Jacob, Kalvin, Taylor; uncle to many nieces and nephews; predeceased by parents Samuel and Sarah, brother Ward (K in A WWII), sister Madge and Margaret; survived by sister Sarah and brothers Hugh and Roderick; D.O.B.: December 14, 1917- Ayrshire, Scotland; family emigrated to Canada in 1927; longtime Hespeler resident; member of the Royal Canadian Legion - Hespeler Branch #272; decorated with Military Medal by King George VI while serving Canada in WWII (5 years); member of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment; founding member of Hespeler Pipe Band, past President of Grand River Valley Branch of the Clan Donald Society of Canada; member of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church Legion Magazine D.O.D.: March 9, 2000 - age 83; recipient of a Military Medal; service no. A107083; unit - Lincoln and Welland Regiment; member of the Royal Canadian Legion - Hespeler Branch #272 WW II Grace Russ Scrapbooks Vol 1 pg 9 Killed in Action - Hespeler native Vol 1 pg 12 Hespeler Honour Roll - Killed in Action Vol 4 pg 1 Son of Mr & Mrs Samuel Alexander, Queen Street East Hespeler age 19 years - enlistment August 1943 - Stationed to Victoria B.C.