Last night, the community of Huntsville came together at the Canada Summit Centre, including members of the Royal Canadian Legion Huntsville Branch 232 and their friends and family, Mayor Nancy Alcock, Town Councillors and Staff, representatives of Canada Post, local Royal Canadian Air Cadets, and the Cameron of Lochiel Pipes and Drums, to honour Huntsville’s WWII veterans. The ceremony commemorated the Huntsville Honour Roll in its new home at the Summit Centre.
“I am incredibly proud of our Royal Canadian Legion Branch 232 for ensuring the Honour Roll is now in the rightful place for all of our citizens to see the names on this Roll, and for all of the families to see the names, in a place that we cherish in our community, this community centre,” says Huntsville’s Mayor Nancy Alcock. “When you look at the number of names, and we all recognize who so many of them are, it’s profoundly moving. Huntsville’s contribution to the Second World War was enormous. Fifteen per cent of the population is represented by those men and women who enlisted from Huntsville. That’s extraordinary! This honour roll will remind us of this contribution. We will never forget and we will always honour those who served.”
“The Honour Roll has been placed here in the Canada Summit Centre where it is accessible to the public. Many of the names on the Roll are reflected in street names and parks throughout the Town of Huntsville, and some of those families still reside in the Town to this day,” says Royal Canadian Legion Branch 232 representative James Simpson. “It’s an honour for me to share the history of this artifact, which honours the service of our Huntsville veterans in the Second World War.”
“We were pleased to work in partnership with the Legion and Town of Huntsville to ensure that a vital symbol of Huntsville’s history, and a stark reminder of the sacrifices that were made by our Veterans to protect our freedoms during WWII, was transferred with care and prominently displayed in the community. Canada Post is proud to be a strong community presence and delivering to every resident in every way we can with the assistance of our local operations team and our facility management partners,” says Denis Demers, Director of Operations for Northern Ontario and Nunavut, Canada Post.
“The Honour Roll is now proudly displayed along the hallway of the Canada Summit Centre. I invite you to go down and take in the names and appreciate the important role that these individuals played in protecting our freedom and supporting our peace,” says Jacqueline Surette, Manager of Recreation, Culture and Heritage at the Town of Huntsville. “In the words of Ernest Hemingway, ‘Every man has two deaths, when he is buried in the ground and the last time someone says his name.’ This is the importance of the Honour Roll, in helping these soldiers live on each time we read their name.”
History of the Huntsville Honour Roll…
The Honour Roll commemorates those from Huntsville who served in the Armed Forces during the Second World War. The list came directly from Ottawa and includes the names of 400 men and women, approximately 15 per cent of the population of Huntsville at the time (which was 2,700 residents based on the most recent Census data).
Alf Harper was commissioned in 1945 to build a special display case to house the Honour Roll. The solid oak frame is five feet tall, 13 feet long, and weighs approximately 200 lb.
The Honour Roll was hung in the Huntsville Post Office in November 1947, which was located in the Huntsville Civic Centre at the time. It was moved to the Centre Street entrance of the new Huntsville Post Office in 1955, and featured prominently until the front entrance was moved to Main Street. The Honour Roll now hangs in a front hallway of the Canada Summit Centre, where it serves as a lasting reminder of the many local families who served in the Second World War.