Saanich Remembers WWI

About the Project

Saanich Remembers World War One was launched to commemorate the centennial of the First World War. The purpose of the project is to remember and honour the hundreds of Saanich residents who served in the First World War and to learn more about the impact of the war on the community. 

The project centres on the Saanich WWI Honour Roll. Currently on display at Saanich Archives, this beautiful hand-drawn document lists 355 Saanich residents who served in the First World War. Many names are missing. Saanich Archives’ records indicate that at least 800 residents served overseas.

Volunteer researchers have helped to create a complete list of Saanich WWI veterans, and to find biographical information for each person. All the information collected is preserved at Saanich Archives and shared on the project website. 

In September 2015 and 2016, a battlefield tour led by Gavin Cooper visited cemeteries overseas as part of the Saanich Remembers Project. Military and family researcher Steve Clifford also visited the graves of Saanich WWI soldiers in June 2016. Photographs that they took on their visits have been added to the "Residents Who Served" pages of this website.

Project banner

Project Events 2014 - 2018

  • "So That None Shall Go Unrecorded" exhibit -- Fall, 2018, Arts Centre at Cedar Hill
  • 2018 Fall Lecture
  • 100 Years of Remembrance, November 2018, Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Site
  • Memorial Avenue Rededication Ceremony, September 2018
  • 2017 Fall Lecture Series
  • Vimy100 at the Bay Street Armoury (9 April 2017) - display. Read Saanich Archives Vimy100 Newsletter (4 April 2017)
  • Friends of BC Archives - presentation titled "Saanich Remembers: Community, Memory, & Commemoration" (January 2017)
  • Exhibit commemorating 100th anniversary of the Saanich WWI Honour Roll, Saanich Municipal Hall (January 2017)
  • 2016 Fall Lecture Series
  • Bay Street Armoury 100th Anniversary Event (2015) - display
  • Saanich Remembers World War One exhibit, Saanich Municipal Hall (Nov 2015)
  • 2015 Fall Lecture Series at the Saanich Centennial Library
  • 2014 Lecture Series at the Saanich Centennial Library
  • Saanich at Home & Overseas, 1914-1918, exhibit at the Arts Centre at Cedar Hill (Aug 2014)
  • Remembrance Day Exhibit, Saanich Municipal Hall (Nov 2014)
  • Western Front Association Pacific Coast Branch – presentation (Feb 2014)

 

Read about the Saanich Remembers World War One project: