The South Peace Regional Archives will be closed on Wednesday, November 11th for Remembrance Day. Do you want to commemorate Remembrance Day at home? Explore these related resources from the Archives.
Poppy Bunting Display
This year’s marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. To commemorate this important event, the South Peace Regional Archives and Grande Prairie Museum have partnered with Wapiti Meadows District – Girl Guides of Canada to create a poppy bunting display.
Over the last two weeks, local Girl Guides have been learning about WWII female veterans and war brides from the South Peace, as well as the symbolism of the poppy. Members from fourteen local units were then given the opportunity to create a poppy flag that was used to decorate the Remembrance Day display at the Grande Prairie Museum.
The joint Archives-Museum Remembrance Day display is an annual event and will be up in the Military section of the main exhibit gallery for the month of November. The Grande Prairie Museum is open Tuesday to Friday from 10:00am to 6:00pm and 12:00pm to 6:00pm on Saturday and Sunday. On Remembrance Day, the Museum will be open 12:00pm to 5:00pm. For more information on Museum hours and exhibits, please call 780-830-7090.
Soldiers Memorial
The South Peace Regional Archives is creating an online memorial to the soldiers from the South Peace area who were involved in defending our country. We have over 1,100 WWI soldiers and over 2,300 WWII soldiers listed on this site so far, and the list is growing. As we gather information about each soldier, it will be added to the memorial. This important work is completed by volunteer researchers and members of the community. Love the idea of our project? You can help! We will welcome the general public to pick a soldier from our list to research. Contact us for more information.
War Brides Collection
Between 1942 and 1948, nearly 45,000 War Brides accompanied by 21,000 children came to Canada from Britain and Europe to join their husbands. Entire departments of government were devoted to bringing the war brides home.
In 2007, the South Peace Regional Archives collected autobiographical stories from 18 World War II brides who came to the Peace Country after meeting their Canadian husbands in Britain and Europe during the War. The War Brides Collection includes audio taped interviews and photographs documenting these women’s lives and journeys. Brief biographies and a selection of photographs are available to view online.