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Join us as we visit the significant sites of WWI in Northern France & Belgium including Vimy Ridge, Hill 70 and Ypres Salient on August 16 through 30, 2019. Follow in the steps of Canadian forces during WWII, from the liberation of Holland to the landing beaches of Normandy. This tour includes visits to Amsterdam ..
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The Norfolk County Public Library is celebrating the progress of the Norfolk Remembers Project for WWI, and the One Novel One Norfolk community reading program with a party! Saturday January 26, 2019 – 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. At the Simcoe Branch – 46 Colborne St. S Please attend and bring your family and friends to: Meet the editor ..
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Canadian author Jennifer Robson will be making a special appearance at the Lighthouse Festival Theatre on Thursday, November 8th to talk about her work and Women on the Homefront. Jennifer Robson first learned about the Great War from her father, acclaimed historian Stuart Robson, and later served as an official guide at the Canadian National ..
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Video presentation on Remembrance Day
Norfolk Remembers in partnership with the Norfolk County Public Library and the Royal Canadian Legion Simcoe invite you to attend a special multimedia presentation at the Norfolk War Memorial – Carillon Tower on Sunday November 11th. This ceremony will commemorate each of the 262 Norfolk men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the ..
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The latest title in the Letters Home series looks at the last 100 days of the First World War. The end of the war is near but the fighting is not yet done, the letters home are particularly poignant. Pick up your copy of the new title from any of the Norfolk County Public Libraries or Norfolk ..
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On Sunday, November 5th, the Norfolk Remembers Committee will be launching the newest book in the Letters Home series: Norfolk at Passchendaele 1917. The event will also include the unveiling of two amazing memorial quilts created by the Twilight Quilters’ Guild. Location: NCPL Simcoe Library Branch (46 Colborne St S, Simcoe). Doors open at 1:30pm – ..
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12 Day tour to the Netherlands, Belgium & France. Norfolk Remembers the Great War: September 14-25, 2018. Join us as we visit the significant sites of WWI in Northern France & Belgium including Vimy Ridge, Beaumont Hamel and Ypres Salient. Follow in the steps of the Canadian forces during WWII, from the landing beaches of Normandy ..
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August 1917 was arguably the darkest month in the long history of Norfolk County. War in Europe had raged for three savage years and communities across Canada had already sacrificed thousands of young soldiers. From Aug. 15 through Aug. 25 of that deadly year, it was Norfolk’s turn to offer up blood and that it ..
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The Battle of Hill 70, August 15 to 25, is a Canadian success story as important as Vimy Ridge. It took place only a few months after Vimy and days before Passchendaele and yet it is largely forgotten. Following the victory at Vimy the Canadians continued operations in the Arras area to divert attention from ..
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On May 19, 2017, 35 residents of Norfolk landed in Paris France to begin a two-week tour of Canadian WWI and WWII Battlefields, Monuments and Cemeteries. Click HERE for a full day-by-day photo story of the trip.
Did you get your special edition of the Simcoe Reformer? If not, click the provided links to view this weeks feature on the 100th Anniversary of Vimy and the men and women from Norfolk involved. Norfolk and Vimy Ridge
Have you ever looked at an old photo of First World War soldiers and wondered who they were? Perhaps you wondered whether they survived or whether they were one of the 67,000 Canadians who died in the war? Over 1,500 Norfolk men and women served in the war and of these, 252 died and hundreds ..
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A Place Called Vimy Letter home to Norfolk from Pte. George Wallace Cook of Vittoria. February 10th, 1917 from No. 4 Stationary Hospital, France You probably heard that I was slightly wounded, (while in trenches belowVIMY Ridge) but I am now well, except for my eye, and it will be all right soon. While up ..
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One hundred years ago – On Easter Monday, April the 9th, the Canadian soldiers left their trenches below Vimy Ridge and began their walk into history. It was the 50th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Before that famous walk began, we thought of ourselves as a Colony of Great Britain. By the afternoon of April 9th ..
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The following are some of the many examples of letters on file from Norfolk’s own writing home to their loved ones during the Christmas season. “Gunner Pursel gives an interesting account of life in France. We are grateful to have the privilege of reproducing it for our readers, and will be pardoned for using ..
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A unique memorial to Canadian soldiers who served during the First and Second World War will be dedicated near Villa Nova Sept. 24. That is the day Norfolk County will proclaim a 3.2-kilometre stretch of Townsend Concession 11 as The Rockford Road of Heroes. The section in question extends from Villa Nova Road east to the Haldimand-Norfolk ..
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MEDIA RELEASE: Rockford Road of Heroes dedication Saturday September 24, 2016 at Lemery Farm. The Norfolk Remembers WW1 and WW11 Committee have received permission from Norfolk County Council to commemorate a 3.2 km stretch of Concession 11, Townsend, Ontario as the “Rockford Road of Heroes”. “The Rockford Road of Heroes” will serve to remember the 27 ..
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It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Jeanne Hornby on Sunday June 26. Every now and then, someone walks into your life and leaves an indelible mark on the path you take. Jeanne was one of those people. Ten years ago I began the long process of researching my family ..
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Visit the Norfolk Remembers booth during the Lynn River Festival in Simcoe on July 30 & 31. All publications will be available for purchase along with the limited edition commemorative 133rd Norfolk’s Own pin. Booth is beside the Carillon Tower in front of Simcoe Composite School.
The 3rd Norfolk Remembers book titled Letters Home: Norfolk At Vimy April 9th, 1917 is now available for purchase at all NCPL Branches for $8 a book. This booklet records the letters Norfolk soldiers sent home before and after the Battle of Vimy Ridge, which took place on April 9th, 1917.
Now Available! The Norfolk Remembers Committee has recreated a First World War sweetheart pin from an original 133rd Norfolk’s Own example. These pins are available through the Norfolk County Public Libraries and the Waterford Heritage & Agricultural Museum for $5.00 each.
The second in a series of booklets highlighting Norfolk soldiers involvement in the Great War was launch this Remembrance Day. Letters Home: 133rd Norfolk Battalion 1916 is available through the Norfolk County Public Libraries and Norfolk museums. See the publication page for further details. More booklets published soon!
Norfolk Remembers Scanning Project (Summer Archivist Shelby Edwards and Nancy Chartrand of Delhi scan a framed picture of Nancy’s great-uncles from WWI – photo by Daniel Pearce, Simcoe Reformer) Thanks to the Norfolk County Public Library (NCPL), the Norfolk Remembers Committee has launched a special project to scan original documents, photographs and related material from both WWI and ..
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Visit the Norfolk War Memorial, Carillon Tower during the Lynn River Music & Arts Festival to see special exhibits on Norfolk’s military history and 90 years of the Carillon. The newest in a series of history books featuring Norfolk’s Great War soldiers will also be launched and much more! This special anniversary event will be ..
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A stained glass window in the south west wall of the LaSalette Church pays tribute to the memory of Pte. Francis Leland Murphy. Francis was born in 1885 in Silver Hill to John and Elsie Forbes Murphy. He enlisted in the 133rd on February 9, 1916 indicating he had been a member of the 39th ..
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2014 marked the 100th anniversary of the commencement of the Great War of 1914-1918. By the time hostilities ended in late 1918, over 625,000 Canadians had answered the call to arms. This was an incredible response from a Country that was drawing young people from a total population of 7.5 million. In 1914, the population ..
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From Grant Smith: “May 4th was the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Holland. Growing up in Delhi, I went to school and Boy Scouts with Johnny Lesage. John’s father was killed on April 20,1945 serving with the Lincoln and Welland Regiment in the battle to liberate Holland. My wife and I were in Holland ..
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Make sure to check-out the latest copy of the Norfolk News (www.norfolknews.ca) to see the Great War Memoriam. The newspaper has been publishing Norfolk’s soldiers who were killed “this week in history”. The Norfolk Remembers Committee would like to thank the Norfolk News for volunteering to publish this meaningful tribute!
Dedicated on June 17, 1925, the Carillon Tower was built in lasting honour of those from Norfolk who paid the supreme sacrifice during the First World War. The Norman architectural styled tower is 60 feet tall and contains a carillon of 23 bells, the heaviest weighing 1,568lbs. The firm of Gillett & Johnson, England produced ..
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Visit us at the 2015 Authors’ Book Fair on Saturday, May 2nd (10am to 4pm) and Sunday, May 3rd (11am to 4pm) being held at Lakewood Elementary/Port Dover Library Branch – 713 St.George Street, Port Dover. -Over 20 Authors will sell & sign books -Readings from selected works -Poetry Slam on Saturday at 3pm -Writing ..
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On August 10, 2014 Norfolk Remembers the Great War: 1914-1918 was officially launched. A special gathering was held at the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 79 Simcoe where inscribed copies of the book were presented to Jeanne Hornby, Legion representatives and others who had been of considerable assistance with the project. In the afternoon the public launch was ..
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The NRC was established in 2014 as a centennial project to commemorate the start of the First World War. Its volunteer members represent local service organizations such as Rotary, Lions and the Royal Canadian Legion. The Norfolk County Public Library, Simcoe Branch has been involved since its inception with staff facilitating the Norfolk Remembers The ..
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Welcome to the newly created Norfolk Remembers website. Please take a moment to view the above links for information about the NRC, upcoming projects and the archives. If you have any information to contribute please feel free to contact us!