A Maple Ridge history project, two decades in the making, is now online, telling the stories of local First World War veterans.
The Maple Ridge Family History Group, a 12 member team, just launched the project called Honouring Those Who Served, a project based on research by local historian Annette Fulford.
Fulford was interested in discovering the stories behind the names of the soldiers inscribed on the Maple Ridge Cenotaph and other memorials throughout the community.
The team, at Fulford’s request, started researching 49 names in May, 2023 – in addition to the history of memorials and honour rolls in the area.
They have spent about 1,000 hours volunteering their time, researching attestation papers, census data, directories, birth records, burial records, tax rolls, passenger lists, newspapers and more.
Their work has been added to research already done and put together in a package to make the local stories accessible to students and researchers worldwide.
Maple Ridge had a population under 3,000 people when war was declared 4 August 1914, explained the group.
It is estimated more than 200 men from the Maple Ridge area enlisted in Canadian, British, and New Zealand forces. The history group noted, many of the men who enlisted were brothers, cousins, former classmates, and local athletes.
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The 17 February 1917 Vancouver Daily World made the claim that the Port Haney Basketball Club had disbanded as they had “sent practically every eligible player to the firing line.” Women joined as nurses and munitions workers. Men were employed as munitions workers and volunteered for home defenses.
The death toll of the First World War was unparalleled up to that point. The war ignited a sense of national pride and a move to memorialize those who had died emerged throughout the community.
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On 23 May 1923 almost 1,000 citizens of Maple Ridge assembled to witness the unveiling of the cenotaph that is now at Memorial Peace Park.
“We acknowledge that there may be names missing from the Maple Ridge memorials. The research files will become part of the archival collection at the Maple Ridge Museum and Community Archives. We invite the community to contact the Maple Ridge Museum and Archives with contributions,” said a statement from the Maple Ridge Family History Group, a standing committee of the Maple Ridge Historical Society, which has served the community since 1999.
The stories of the First World War names inscribed on the Maple Ridge Cenotaph can now be read on the Maple Ridge Museum and Community Archives website at: mapleridgemuseum.org/honouring-those-who-served.