23 Commonwealth War Grave headstones in Nanaimo will be resurrected
CTV
The Bowen Road Cemetery in Nanaimo is home to 23 Commonwealth War Graves, which will soon be upright after lying flat for more than 60 years.
The Bowen Road Cemetery in Nanaimo is home to 23 Commonwealth War Graves, which will soon be upright after lying flat for more than 60 years.
“Every Remembrance Day I come and visit these guys and make sure they are not forgotten,” says Kevin Hills, a local military historian who places a Canadian flag and poppy at headstones every November.
For the past four years, Hills has been advocating for the City of Nanaimo to change its cemetery bylaw and make an exception for the 23 men who served in Commonwealth armed forces during the world wars.
“I feel like these guys have been overlooked and forgotten,” Hills adds.
At Monday night's council meeting, the city made the decision to amend the bylaw, allowing the Commonwealth headstones to be resurrected.
In the 1960s, the city joined a nationwide initiative at the time to improve cemetery maintenance.
“The federal government initiated a program where they supported laying down the markers with inscriptions on one side,” says David Thompson, manager of cemeteries for the City of Nanaimo.
