Kelowna veteran honoured
Nonagenarian among 19 in B.C. to receive citizenship medal
A 95-year-old Kelowna man named one of B.C.’s outstanding citizens says he shares the honour with all those who helped upgrade the cenotaph in City Park.
Reflecting back on a lifetime that included war service as a tank commander and helping to establish the Kelowna-Veendam Sister City Association, Ed Dickins said he’s particularly proud of a particular undertaking.
In 2006, Dickins was among a small group of veterans who led a $650,000 fundraising campaign to expand and improve the cenotaph plaza.
“That was such a successful campaign because it really resonated with people, the idea of building a better and larger place to remember the men who didn’t come home from the war,” Dickins said Tuesday.
“And we managed to come in under budget on that project,” he said, adding with a laugh: “That probably wouldn’t have happened if it had been a city job.”
Dickins was named one of 19 British Columbians to receive the province’s Medal of Good Citizenship, Premier John Horgan announced Tuesday.
“It is an honour to congratulate these community leaders whose commitment helps strengthen our society,” Horgan said in a release.
Launched in 2015, the medal recognizes individuals who, through exceptional long-term service, have made outstanding contributions to their communities without expectation of remuneration or reward.
Dickins volunteered for service during the Second World War in July 1940, joining the Kelowna-based B.C. Dragoons. He was a tank commander, and saw action in Italy and the Netherlands.
He was in the army reserves until 1975, and has volunteered as president of the Kelowna branch of the Royal Canadian Legion and commander of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets.
He was instrumental in setting up the KelownaVeendam Sister City Association, which celebrates the links between the Okanagan and the Dutch city the Dragoons helped to liberate from the Nazis in the spring of 1945.
Dickins was also a founder of the Okanagan Military Museum, and regularly spoke at schools during Remembrance Day events for many years.
“Dickins defines good citizenship,” reads the statement from the premier’s office. “He has spent the last eight decades of his life doing good deeds on behalf of the citizens of this country and this province.”
Dickins is the only resident of the Okanagan to receive the Medal of Good Citizenship this year.