In honour of the 151st Battalion C Company of the Canadian Expeditionary Force the Royal Canadian Legion Field Marshal Alexander Branch No. 11 in collaboration with Robert Snelgrove is building a memorial site at the Vermilion Public Cememtery next to the veteran plot.
Four years ago the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 11 received a Community Facility Enhancement grant to help improve the cemetery plots of veterans buried at the site.
“We have worked on repairing some of the headstones that are currently here, straightening them out and refacing them according to the special requirements set out by veterans affairs as each headstone has a standardized layout,” said Legion member Bruce Marriott. He also mentioned that the Legion has worked with the Town of Vermilion to secure more land for veteran burial spots as they currently only have one row left available.
Robert Snelgrove who has a personal interest in the 151st Battalion C Company due to his great uncle Thomas Snelgrove being a member of that company has taken on the role of technical advisor for the project and has secured an iron memorial sign which has been placed on the site in honour of those that served in the company. He has also donated equipment and time to help level the area where a gazebo has been built with benches donated by Anton Krys.
“It is our hope to find information on as many of the soldiers which served with the 151st Battalion so we can erect plaques to honour them. I feel it is important to recognize the sacrifice they made to provide us the freedoms in which we have today,” said Snelgrove.
As the memorial area is still under construction, the group hopes that when finished it will have a peaceful aura with grass, trees the plaques, and benches where family members and members of the public can visit to learn of, reflect on and honour those who served.
Robert Snelgrove extends an open invitation to anyone with a family member in the C Company of the 151st Battalion to get ahold of him and share their story.