Thanks to the Tuesday night Bingo fundraisers held by the Port Elgin & District Lions Club, the Southampton Cenotaph site revitalization project is one step closer to its goal.
The Lions came forward with a donation of $2,500 on Monday, March 18th that they presented to the Southampton Community Cenotaph Committee.
Veteran and Committee Member, Derek Johnston, accepted the donation on behalf of the Committee. Johnston, born and raised in Southampton, served in the Royal Canadian Navy for 33 years and completed one NATO tour and two tours in support of the war in Afghanistan and embargos on Iraq. He retired to Southampton in 2020 where he is a member of Southampton Legion and is Chair of the Veterans Committee.
The existing Cenotaph cairn has fallen into a state of extreme disrepair over the years and the Community Cenotaph Committee initiated a plan to have the site revitalized as it is seen as the focal point of High Street in Southampton. The mortar of the cairn itself is disintegrating with the result that the brick work is cracking and falling off and the plaques bearing the names of Southampton’s young men who went to war are almost impossible to read, all due to weathering and aging.
For larger view, Click on Image
According to the Committee members, “… monuments and cemeteries that bear our fallen Canadian soldiers around the world are beautifully and painstakingly cared for, often in garden-like settings, by generations of people who never knew our soldiers but understand and appreciate their sacrifice. Most of us will never visit the graves of our young men and women whose resting places are far away but we can rest assured that they are tenderly cared for.”
Some of the Canadian Military Cemeteries and Monuments
