Kamloops Remembers: Locals get lesson in history of war memorials in city

“They’re names I think that are really familiar to people,” Kamloops Museum Educator Keely Bland told those gathered at the park. “One that might be really familiar, especially considering the buildings right beside [the park] is the last name Wood. Norman Clark Wood was the son of E. Stuart Wood, the namesake of the former school just behind us.”

The event was billed as an “End of the Great War and Cenotaph tour” of the park, and culminated with the unveiling of a project which has been in the works for some time — Kamloops street signs adorned with poppies, to honour the people those streets were named after.

“I feel a lot of pride in my community,” Jeff Lodge of the Kamloops Heritage Commission told CFJC Today.

Earlier in 2018, Kamloops City Council decided not to use city funds to pay for the street sign project. Lodge decided to fundraise more than $9,000 to get the first batch of signs off the ground.

“These people are victims of [World War I],” Lodge said. “They were brought into something bigger than them, they did their duty, what they thought was right and they paid the price.”

Those who attended also learned more about Frederick Lee, a Chinese-Canadian soldier from Kamloops who died at the Battle of Hill 70 in France, as well as some of the other unique stories from World War I that Jack Gin has discovered in his quest for information about Lee and his family.

“The story of George MacLean with a sack full of pineapples (grenades) raiding a German trench by himself and coming back with 19 prisoners,” Gin explained to CFJC Today. “Learning about Leo Alphonso Smith, a proud black Rocky Mountain Ranger.”

A little slice of local history, and a chance to remember those from our city who sacrificed their lives so those back home could remain free.

by Adam Donnelly

Kamloops Remembers: Locals get lesson in history of war memorials in city

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