JOGGINS, N.S. — Ten veterans from the Joggins area can rest easier knowing their names are now included on the community's cenotaph.
The names of the 10 men killed during the First World War or from wounds or illness in the months following the war were unveiled during a rededication ceremony at the cenotaph and memorial park in Joggins.
“It’s so great to see this project come to a conclusion, especially on a day with the significance today has – being the 75th anniversary of D-Day,” Dara Legere, vice-president and secretary of the Joggins branch of the Royal Canadian Legion said June 6. “This is something that brings closure to the community and the families that are still here.”
When the cenotaph was erected in the former town of Joggins in 1948 they used the honour rolls from the three churches in the community to get the names of the war dead from both the First and Second World Wars. A name from the Korean War was added later.
Unfortunately, there were a number of men who left lumber camps in Shulee and men who worked in the mines, but lived outside Joggins who were forgotten. They too went overseas to fight for King and Country but didn’t return.
In 2018, when records from the First World War became public, Legere began doing research on Joggins’ war veterans. That’s when he found the missing names. He used records from Library and Archives Canada, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Great War Project to collect the information.
“In some cases there was family in Joggins that didn’t know their ancestor had died in the war,” Legere said. “In the case of William Mills, the family didn’t know they had a cousin who’d died in the First World War. They were very pleased to get the information.”
With support from the Gray family and Gray Concrete Foundations, who provided the concrete work to fix the cenotaph; and Liberty Enterprises and John Kellegrew, who helped with the plaque, the names were added. Plans were to unveil the names and rededicate the cenotaph during Remembrance Day ceremonies last year, but poor weather prevented that.
In the meantime, work was also completed on a garden behind the cenotaph that is home to the Vimy Oak that was planted two years ago. The flagpoles were also repaired while the cenotaph itself was cleaned and repaired, although more work will be required to fix the soldier at the top which was damaged by frost this past winter.
The project, co-ordinated by the legion, also had support from the provincial government and Veterans Affairs Canada as well as the Municipality of Cumberland.
“I think this gives some closure to these young men who went overseas a century ago to fight for their country. They gave their lives, but were sort of forgotten. We’ve found them and their names are now on the cenotaph where they belong,” Legere said. “A wrong has been righted.”
Some of the soldiers, such as Pte. Arselle Delvaux, whose family moved to Joggins from Belgium to work in the coal mine, died in the days following the assault on Vimy Ridge while others, like Cpl. Roy Mills, died after the war from the Spanish Influenza and is buried in Joggins.
In most cases, Legere said, their families had left the area after the war.
The names include Privates Edward Cormier, Arselle Delvaux, Archie Downey, Thomas Hamilton, Charles Jenkins, Spurgeon MacLeod, Williams Mills and Clifford Phillips as well as Sapper Rufus Kennedy and Cpl. Roy Mills.
Legion president Doug Legere said it’s important these men and everyone who gave their lives in the world wars, Korea, peacekeeping activities and the Afghanistant conflict are remembered.
“It just takes one generation to forget the sacrifice they made,” he said. “We cannot let that happen.
