Oakville at War
Memories of service as told by Oakville's WWII Veterans are available by selecting from the names on the left of this page.Every Remembrance Day, Oakville pays homage to those who fought under the shadows of war. Servicemen and women gather at the cenotaph at George's Square, remembering those they fought with, those who came home, and those who did not.
For those who were not alive during the time of war, it is difficult to imagine what it was like. Yet, in the first half of the twentieth century, there was scarcely a family in Canada who remained untouched by the darkness brought by two world wars.
More than 600,000 Canadians served overseas in the First World War and over 65,000 gave their lives. The number of Canadians who served in the Second World War surpassed 1,000,000 and approximately 45,000 gave their lives. Countless others worked at home and abroad to support the war effort.
The experience of war - it's camaraderie, excitement, sorrow, and devastation - cannot be felt by those who were not there. But it can be shared. In 1999, the last year of the 20th century, the Oakville Museum at Erchless Estate asked the citizens of Oakville to donate digital reproductions of their war photographs and artifacts to its Shadows of War exhibit. Many war veterans - those who grew up in Oakville and those who moved to the community later - shared their images and memories. Other contributors - not war veterans - brought images that honoured their family or friends, some of whom had died in the wars.
For more information, visit Oakville at War - a presentation of the Oakville Public Library.
