Local Veteran Keeps Importance of Remembrance Day Alive
Some people decorate their yards for Halloween. Others have elaborate Christmas decorations.
Local veteran Terry Hunter does something completely different.
“Each year, I put up a Remembrance Day display,” said Hunter, who served in the Canadian Armed Forces for more than 47 years. “People put up fantastic decorations for Halloween and Christmas, but I have never seen anyone do something for Remembrance Day. So I decided I would start my own tradition.”
The display includes wooden silhouettes from The Great War, which was the original name for World War I. The display includes silhouettes of soldiers, animals and nursing sisters, as well as a display of poppies made from recycled two-litre soft drink bottles.
“I have a Birch Tree shaped like a V, so I call it my Victory Tree,” Hunter said. “It is a perfect for the poppies. I used the pop bottles and chicken wire to create it.”
Hunter began creating his Remembrance Day display in 2022. He moved from Barrhaven to his home on River Road south of Riverside South in 2020, and then had the idea for Remembrance Day display. The feedback he has received has been very positive.
“All of the feedback I have received has been positive,” he said. “Some of my neighbours have told me they like it. I have also had people driving by who have backed into the driveway and come to the door to thank me for putting up the display. Some of them say that the display reminds them of family members who have served. I’m glad it makes them feel special or creates memories.”
In addition to the display on his front yard, Hunter has also been visiting schools in and around Barrhaven for the past 30 years to talk to classes about Remembrance Day. He is part of the Memory Project, and teachers from area schools contact him through the program.
“It’s important to keep our history alive, especially among young people,” Hunter said. “Visiting schools is an important way to do it. I also make small Memorial Poppy Crosses each year which I give to students when I do my presentations during October and November at their schools wearing a period First World War uniform.”
Presentation at Barrhaven Legion
Last weekend, Hunter took part in a presentation with local military historian Norm Christie and the 77th Overseas Battalion Club.
The 77th Overseas Battalion Club are a group of Historians dedicated to the preservation of Canadian Military History through interactive lectures, demonstrations and artifact displays in the local community.
Christie has travelled the world following in the footsteps of Canada’s soldiers from Sicily to France, to Spain, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. He has written over 20 books on the Canadians in the First and Second World Wars. He is known for his TV documentaries such as “For King and Empire”, “For King and Country”, “Battlefield Mysteries” and “The Great War Tour”. He is recognized as Canada’s leading expert on Canadian battlefields and cemeteries of the First and Second World War.
The event featured a used military book and DVD flea market.
Hunter brought in his MK 1 Vickers machine gun for a presentation. The heavy machine gun, which required a three-man crew to operate, was used by the British military from the early 1900s through the 1960s.
Michel Gravel discussed recent commemorations honouring the CEF battlefields along the Arras-Cambrai road, including Dr. Frederick Banting and seven Victoria Crosses.
Christie’s presentation was on Lost Treasures of the Great War, showcasing his own collectibles.
Audience members were also invited to bring an interesting item or two to explain how these artifacts tell the story of the Great War.
