With Remembrance Day around the corner and this year marking the 100th anniversary end of the First World War, a museum exhibition offers a glimpse into Vernon’s efforts during the war.
Greater Vernon Museum and Archives curatorial assistant Jesslyn Jarvis, with the assistance of curatorial intern Gwyneth Evans and multiple volunteers, is at the helm of Finish the Fight! Vernon in the Great War – an exhibition that seeks to commemorate Vernon citizens who contributed to bringing the war to a victorius end.
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“Over 700 men from the Vernon area volunteered for active service overseas, representing 20 per cent of the city’s population at the time. The majority trained at Camp Vernon, now the Vernon Cadet Training Centre,” Jarvis said.
“On the home front, men, women and children donated time, money and materials to the war effort, and took up jobs vacated by the soldiers. Within the city, ‘enemy aliens’ were interned in one of the largest internment camps in Canada, located at the site of W.L Seaton Secondary School.”
A central piece to the wartime display, Jarvis said, is a digital slideshow that volunteer and GVMA board member Francois Arseneault created with still photos set to music.
Finish the Fight! Vernon in the Great War runs until March 30, 2019. It opened Oct. 4. Museum admission is by donation.
For more information, contact the museum at 250-542-3142, visit www.vernonmuseum.ca or find GVMA on Facebook.
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