The hundreds of poppies adorning the exterior walls of Midland’s St. Paul’s United Church serve as a poignant way to commemorate Remembrance Day.
The Midland church’s congregation and others participated in the project, which saw more than 50 people knit or crocheted 1,400 poppies.
“It’s our small contribution to honour our veterans of all wars and those who gave their lives for our freedom,” says organizer Sheila Thompson.
“The banners also include white poppies to remember children killed in war, and purple poppies to remember animals.”
Andrew Philips/MidlandToday
After the poppies were completed, they were then stitched onto large banners by another 25 volunteers, over three days, before being placed on the exterior of the church.
Andrew Philips/MidlandToday
But that’s not the only way Downtown Midland is honouring local veterans.
Like silent sentinels, the 29 faces on banners keep watch over King Street 24 hours-a-day, constant reminders of the wars that were waged and the sacrifices that were made.
Created in partnership with the Downtown Midland Improvement Area, Midland Legion and Raytheon Elcan, the initiative features the names and faces of 29 men who died during the First World War and whose names are inscribed on the King Street Cenotaph.
Andrew Philips/MidlandToday
The banners were printed by the Memorial Banners Project out of Walkerton.
The Legion decided to move forward with banners recognizing the First World War fallen at a general meeting with one reason cited as the fact that this particular conflict has now passed out of living memory, meaning it's up to the community to ensure these men's sacrifices are never forgotten.
Each of the men have already had extensive research conducted on their war histories, which is available online through the Midland Virtual Memorial, a project spearheaded by the Midland Legion in conjunction with community volunteers in 2022.
It is expected that this set of banners will be the start of a Remembrance Week tradition and that veterans from other conflicts will be featured in future years.
Added BIA operations manager Katarina Knezevic: “The Downtown Midland BIA is proud to support and display these banners, which honour the sacrifices of community members who fought for our freedom.
“We encourage everyone to take a moment to reflect on their bravery and learn more about their stories as they walk our downtown streets.”
