Cenotaph plaque project a success for Swift Current Legion
The successful conclusion of Operation Remember will allow the Swift Current Legion Branch #56 to complete an upgrade of the plaque at the Swift Current Cenotaph.
Swift Current Legion Branch #56 Public Relations committee member John Griffin explained that a collaboration with the Comrades Forever Motorcycle Club has allowed for two new memorial plaques to be added to the Cenotaph. The new plaques will salute those who served and gave their lives on Canada’s Peacekeeping Missions that have been conducted since the end of the Korean War, along with those who served and gave their lives while serving on Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan.
The project had been at the idea phase for a number of years, but a discussion near the end of 2021 provided the push the project needed. And while an online auction was launched to raise funds for the new plaques, the local Comrades Forever Motorcycle Club stepped forward with the entire $1,000 to purchase the new plaques.
“We were very, very elated and surprised they would sponsor both plaques,” Griffin said during a recent interview. “They decided that they would be interested in sponsoring the two new plaques, because a good portion of their members are peace keeping veterans and Afghanistan veterans.”
After that generous contribution, the Legion then went on to raise $1,172 during their first ever online auction to surpass their fundraising goal of $1,000.
“We kind of switched gears and because we had already met that $1,000 goal for the plaques from their donation, we decided that any money from the auction we would put that into Legion programs that would benefit local veterans.”
The Legion is planing to have a dedication ceremony in May to formally unveil the plaques.
As part of a busy 2022, the Legion is also in the midst of efforts to digitize their extensive militaria collection which represents over a century of military history from the entire Southwest.
“We’ve had an uptick on our projects trying to modernize the Legion,” Griffin admitted. “Now we’re working on digitizing the Legion collection here as a way to engage with more people, and especially younger people.”
Having already developed their first ever website (https://swiftcurrentlegion.ca/), and launching a Youtube account (https://www. youtube.com/channel/ UCNIODWUNQMKAISEHJIXOYJG), they are hoping to continue these modernizing efforts.
“The Swift Current Branch’s collection is quite vast. There’s a little bit of everything. There’s photos of service members. There’s photos of places that they’ve been. There’s photos of the battlefield.”
In addition to an extensive photo collection, they also have documents, newspaper clippings, ledgers, books, and other items like bayonets, helmets, gas masks, along with an authentic detailed model of the HMCS Swift Current.
“That’s one of the major aims of this project is to preserve these valuable pieces of history for future generation. And it’s a good way to tell the stories of our veterans through items that you can hold in your hand and see. It’s not just reading out of a textbook, it’s living history.”
He said it is important to preserve paper copies in their archives, as many of these items are already in delicate condition as a result of their age.
“We want to be able to have those documents around for a long time and for people being able to access them without those documents degrading any further.”
“The project, I believe, will significantly benefit historians, researchers, genealogists, and especially schools. This will be a big thing for schools. They can easily access the stuff in our collection to help teach the next generation about the history of Canada and our local history as well.”