Ahead of Remembrance Day, the Town of Gravenhurst is trying to make sure local soldiers are not forgotten.
Judy Humphries, Chair of Gravenhurst Archives, will present on the area’s “citizen soldiers” who fought in the Great War. The talk on “War and Remembrance” runs 7:00 p.m. Tuesday at the Gravenhurst Public Library.
Humphries says it’s more important than ever to look back on history, and the people that were part of it, lest we forget the lessons it teaches us.
“I think if we look around us right now, we’re looking at a world that has become much more selfish than it was at one time,” says Humphries. “Much more complacent about the rights that we have, and the freedoms that we have. These men couldn’t afford to be complacent.”
According to Humphries, Gravenhurst and the surrounding area lost 62 soldiers in World War I, about 10 per cent of local men sent overseas. She says she’ll take attendees through the stories of several soldiers from the area, including one she considers to be one of the most “heartbreaking and needless” deaths of the war.
“He survived the entire war, working as a railroad engineer, working right in the middle of all of the carnage that was going on around him,” says Humphries. “He contracted pneumonia and died, awaiting repatriation home.”
Admission to the talk is free, with attendees encouraged to sign up via the town’s website. The event will also be broadcasted via Zoom, and a recording will be available in the coming days.