Plaques honouring soldiers from London's Hamilton Road find a new home
CBC
Growing up in the east London neighbourhood of Hamilton Road, Mike Lee learned from an early age about the importance of three plaques on display at his local church and the names listed on them.
They were men and women from his neighbourhood who'd served in the Canadian Armed Forces in either the First or Second World War. For years the plaques were on display at the Hyatt Avenue United Church on Hamilton Road.
Later, when the Hyatt Avenue Church closed, they were displayed at the Fairmont United Church on Tweedsmuir Avenue. Nine years ago it closed and Mike Lee set to work to find them a new permanent home.
To him, the mission was partly personal. The names on those plaques include Lee's father, uncle, grandfather and great uncle.
His grandfather Stanley Lee was honoured for his bravery in the First World War and saw action at Vimy Ridge. Mike Lee's uncle Jack died in a Lancaster bomber over Germany in 1943. His is one of many names listed on the plaques that belong to soldiers who left London to serve but did not return home.
To Lee and to others in the community, the plaques are crucial pieces of history worthy of being displayed somewhere prominent but also central to the Hamilton Road community.
The Hamilton Road Seniors Centre, on Hamilton Road near Egerton Street, fit the bill. A house around the corner on Egerton Street was Lee's first home.
"I thought it was the perfect spot, I did want them to be somewhere where people of all ages could see them," said Lee. "Somewhere relevant to the community where the individuals named on the plaque had come from."
His hope is that younger people may see the plaques and ask questions about the names they display and how they got there.
Like Lee, Deputy Mayor Josh Morgan said the seniors centre is a perfect new home for the list of honoured names.
"Most of the Londoners listed on these plaques lived just around the corner from the Hamilton Road Seniors Centre," he said.
Anyone is welcome to stop in to the lobby of the seniors centre to view the three plaques.
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