Banners on Stouffville Main Street honour veterans of First and Second World Wars

New banners will be displayed alongside the banners honouring fallen soldiers first hung in 2019

Yorkregion.com
October 30, 2020

Remembrance Day is around the corner and the streets of Stouffville will display the images and names of veterans who served Canada during the First and Second World Wars.

On Oct. 23, 21 new additional memorial banners were unveiled at the Branch 459 of the Royal Canadian Legion by Markham-Stouffville MPP Paul Calandra, Whitchurch-Stouffville Mayor Iain Lovatt and Legion representative Rochelle D’Souza.

Because COVID-19 restrictions prevented organizers from hosting a public event, the unveiling was livestreamed. Dignitaries recorded video messages which can be shared with residents, constituents and surviving family members of soldiers honoured on the banners.

“I am sure many of you would have liked to be here in person for this very special event. Unfortunately, like so many other things about life in Canada in 2020, our Remembrance Day observances will be changed by COVID-19,” Calandra said in a media release.

“Although community events may be diminished by the need for social distancing, the love and respect we Canadians feel for our veterans and our military remains undiminished.”

The new banners, which feature soldiers from local families who sacrificed their lives during the First World War, will be erected on Stouffville’s Main Street on Oct. 27 and will remain until after Remembrance Day. The Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville and the Royal Canadian Legion are both supporters of the project along with Calandra, whose office funded the banners.

“I commend and thank Minister Calandra for his continued efforts to recognize and honour the heroes of World Wars I & II who came from Whitchurch-Stouffville,” Lovatt said. “The sacrifices of these brave men and women should never be forgotten and these banners will ensure that their legacy lives on.”

D’Souza said she looks forward to seeing the veterans honoured on Main Street.

The new banners will be displayed in addition to the banners honouring soldiers lost in the Second World War which were first hung in 2019.

“I hope that as families are planning safe and socially distanced outdoor activities to do with their kids this fall, visiting Main Street Stouffville to view the banners will be one of them,” Calandra said. “We have every reason to be proud of and grateful to the soldiers who gave their lives for Canada.”