2 Minutes Wave of Silence
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In the 20th Century, the poppy again was widely noticed after in France and Belgium became rich in lime from rubble during the First World War. The little red flowers flourished around the graves of the war dead as they had 100 years earlier. In 1915 Captain John McCrae, a Guelph, Ontario doctor serving with the Canadian Forces Artillery, recorded this phenomenon in his famous poem, "In Flanders Fields". Two days before the Armistice, Moina Michael, an American woman from Athens, Georgia, read the McCrae poem and was inspired to wear a poppy year-round in memory of the war dead. In 1920, Madame E. Guérin of France visited the United States and happened to meet Miss Michael at the YMCA at Columbia University, where the latter was a volunteer. Mme. Guérin then resolved to sell handmade poppies around Armistice Day to raise money for poor children in the war-torn areas of Europe. In 1921, Field-Marshall Earl Haig, the former Commander-in-Chief of the British Armies in France and Belgium and the principal founder of the British Legion, was sold on Mme. Guérin's fundraising idea and approved organization of the British Poppy Day Appeal by the Legion to raise money for poor and disabled veterans. The same year, Mme Guérin visited Canada, and convinced the Great War Veterans Association (G.W.V.A. - predecessor to the Royal Canadian Legion) to similarly adopt the poppy as a symbol of remembrance; in aid of fundraising. Today, the Poppy Campaign is one of the Royal Canadian Legion's most important programs. The money raised from poppy sales provides direct assistance for ex-service people in financial distress, as well funding for medical appliances and research, home services, care facilities, and numerous other purposes. Click here and learn about Canada's role in this epic event in our history The Battle for Vimy Ridge  In the Spring of 1915, during the heaviest fighting of the second battle of the Ypres Salient in Belgian Flanders, McCrae and his dressing station were within sight of the Canadian cemetery. As the fighting continued, McCrae had his hands full caring for the wounded and he watched with dismay as the little wooden crosses daily grew more numerous. Wild poppies were already beginning to bloom around the graves. After 17 days, he sat down and wrote his poem "In Flanders Fields." During the Second Battle of Ypres, the First Canadian Division suffered great casualties at the hands of the Germans, but managed to hold back the German advance. Four Canadians won the Victoria Cross. The Second Battle of Ypres brought the war home to Canada and served as a stepping stone to the future Canadian success at Vimy Ridge. Through John McCrae's famous poem, we wear poppies each November in remembrance of the great sacrifice Canadians have made in the defence of freedom.
In Flanders Fields
We are the dead.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
John McCrae
Veterans’ Millennium 2000 Project
Under the planning and co-ordination of World War II veteran,
Comrade Ron Moore, a major beautification project became a reality on a major roadway in Lacombe!
The project involved the planting of over 120 Colorado Blue Spruce trees forming a lined roadway in honour of living and deceased Veterans of past wars!
The Town of Lacombe selected 50th Street (a major thoroughfare), with the planting extending to the Hearthstone sub-division area.
A bronze plaque with the names of Boer War, World War I, World War II and Korean War veterans is placed above a buried 'Time Capsule'. This container has memoribilia of the Year 2000 and will be opened in the year 2100.
Families, relatives, groups and individuals contributed $150.00 to purchase a Colorado Blue Spruce tree and to have the Veteran's name, rank, military unit, service and the war involved cast in bronze onto the plaque.
This Boulevard of Honour and the plaque serve as a Memorial to those who served during Canada's wars.
The memorial can be viewed here!
The Legion and the Community
We Will Remember Them!
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Last Post
Solemn in drums thrill: Death august and royal
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again:
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Laurence Binyon
Lacombe Composite High School (LCHS )
Thirty students made four crosses each. They then painted the poppy symbol on each cross.
Each cross carried the name of a Lacombe area veteran killed in action.
With a display such as this, the surviving veterans have visible assurance the youth in Canada are prepared to "Carry the Torch" when the time comes.
Our thanks to their thoughtful teacher Bruce Peers and the students.
The materials were generously provided at no cost by TIM-BR-MART in Lacombe.
This continues to be an annual
Faith in Our Future"
Poppy Trust Funds
Funds are depleted over time and assistance will be provided subject to the Branch’s resources.
Who Owns the Funds ?
They must be kept in separate accounts and they must be spent, not accumulated for a rainy day. Normally, at least ninety percent of the funds collected each year should be spent before the next campaign.
What the Funds Do
Authorized uses also include:
Other Uses For the Funds
What the Funds Can’t Do
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Lacombe Branch #79 member Al Walushka Page updated on April 2, 2003 |
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O
n November 9 1999, educator Bruce Peers the of the Grade 11 Applied Math 20 class at the Lacombe Composite High School honoured visiting Legion members with this display of Remembrance.