World War I Lecture Series:The Glory Passes

The Okanagan has a proud World War I legacy. Expand your awareness of how Okanagan soldiers impacted WWI. Join local historians for the stories you may not know during this special lecture series to commemorate the Great War.
 

Nov 24 – Howard Hisdal, History Department, Okanagan College

First Christmas in the trenches, 1915, for the Okanagan’s regiment

This talk will discuss the 2^nd Canadian Mounted Rifles (CMR) from the Okanagan Valley and their first experiences and Christmas in the trenches in 1915.  While they were digging their winter trenches in the fall of 1915 they were visited by a recently resigned and under disgrace cabinet minister, Winston Churchill, who was then a major in the British army and getting his first tour of the front lines.  Churchill, a veteran of the Boer War, is actually quite helpful and this incident is not documented in any of his biographies because it was only noted in Canadian records. During this time the 2^nd CMR were also excited to get their first gas hoods at Christmas.  These stories and others shared in this talk focus on the men from the Okanagan Valley and their experiences in 1915. 

For more information on this program please contact:
Christina Neale at 250-763-2417 ext. 28
cneale@kelownamuseums.ca