History of the Ladner Legion & the Poppy

Posted

on Nov 04, 2014

On November 4^th the regular meeting was held at the Royal Canadian Legion in Ladner.

Our speaker was Gerry Bramhill. Gerry was born, raised and educated in Richmond. At the age of 17 he enlisted into the Arm Forces after working on the west coast as a Tug Boat Deckhand.

After he left the military he work for as a Power Lineman with the City of Edmonton and then back to BC and began working for B C Hydro and retired after 30 years in 1997.

He moved to Ladner in 1968 and raised two children. He has been a member of the Royal Canadian Legion for 47 years. This year he was appointed by the 2015 Poppy Committee Chairperson for the Ladner Branch.

The Ladner Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion was formed in 1928 and was originally known as the Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League. In 1960 the Legion was renamed the Royal Canadian Legion. The original building was deeded to the Branch in 1945 by the Municipality of Delta and was located where the Ladner Community Centre is situated now. Also, about this time a bowling alley was purchased and moved to a building which had been erected adjoining the high school. The Branch’s main form of income was from this bowling alley. In the 1950’s, the Branch received its liquor license and was moved to the foot of Delta Street in the heart of Ladner Village. 1970 brought about a third move to the current location on Delta Street. Branch 61 is the third owner of this building, constructed in 1922 for the Bank of Montreal.

In recent years the Legion has provided bursaries to local scholars, supported senior and minor sports teams, cadets and other youth groups. The supply of Christmas hampers for the needy has been a seasonal project as well as many other community endeavours.

In Canada, the Poppy has stood as a visual symbol of our Remembrance since 1921. The reason for its adoption in Canada was due to, in no small part, Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae and his now famous poem, “In Flanders Fields”.

This poem, written in May, 1915 on the day following the death of a fellow soldier, would serve as inspiration three years later for an American teacher, Moina Michael, who made a personal pledge after reading the poem to always wear a Poppy as a sign of Remembrance. In 1920, during a visit to the United States, a French woman, Madame Guerin, learned of the custom and decided to sell handmade Poppies to raise money for the children in war-torn areas of the country. Following her example, the Poppy was officially adopted by the Great War Veteran’s Association in Canada (our predecessor) as its Flower of Remembrance on July 5, 1921.

The Poppy stands internationally as a “symbol of collective reminiscence”, as other countries have also adopted its image to honour those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.