SARNIA’S WAR FALLEN: WHERE THEY CALLED HOME

This project is a volunteer, non-profit undertaking

PROJECT CREATORS

Tom St. Amand, Tom Slater, Doug Woods

SIGN ARTWORK

An oil painting by Bennett Slater, based on “Tommy”,
the WWI soldier atop the cenotaph in Sarnia’s Veterans Park

GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY

NOVEMBER 2025

http://www.sarniaswarfallenwheretheycalledhome.ca

ABOUT THE PROJECT

            BACKGROUND

          In November 2024, to honour the sacrifices made by all those who served—especially the fallen and their families—we introduced “The Sarnia War Remembrance Sign Project: Where They Called Home.”  The same type of project had been established in such cities as Toronto and Ottawa.  We began in earnest in February 2024 and, along the way, received unwavering support and sound advice from several groups and individuals.

            THE PROJECT

“Where They Called Home” entails placing signs for 11 days in early November on the boulevards and the lawns of the homes where fallen soldiers from Sarnia once lived.  Each sign features the soldier’s name, address, and age at the time of his death; the soldier’s photo if one is available; the date on which he fell and the war in which he served; the cemetery in which he is buried or the memorial on which his name is inscribed; and a QR code. This QR code is linked to a domain (sarniaswarfallenwheretheylived.ca) which provides readers easy access to an extensive biography on each fallen soldier, a digital map of Sarnia detailing where each soldier lived, and a brief video of some of Sarnia’s heroes who lost their lives while serving our country.

The background of each sign features the “Tommy” soldier that stands atop the cenotaph at Veterans Park. Bennett Slater, a graphic artist from Sarnia, painted the image of the “Tommy” and is allowing us to use it on each sign.    

In 2024, we confirmed the addresses of approximately 250 local fallen soldiers. This year, we are displaying 315 signs that represent one sign for every fallen soldier from Sarnia and the surrounding area whose names are inscribed on the Veterans Park cenotaph.

These are the homes in which they lived before they embarked overseas and were killed in action during The Boer War, WWI, WWII, The Korean War, The War in Afghanistan, and In the Service of Canada.

Approximately 120 houses that fallen soldiers once called home no longer exist—either they have been demolished to create parks or parking lots or they have become restaurants, apartment buildings, or business offices.  Signs for these fallen soldiers will again be placed at one location in Centennial Park and arranged in rows to replicate a military cemetery, similar to the military cemeteries throughout the world where so many of our soldiers are buried.  The site is on a berm just east of the MacPherson Fountain and across the street from the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 62 on Front Street. The rows of signs ascending the berm is fitting since many of our fallen soldiers lost their lives while advancing up or defending the hills of battlefields.

Teams of volunteers will be placing signs either at Centennial Park or on homeowners’ lawns on the morning of November 1 and will be collecting them on the morning of November 12.

Our fallen are buried in over 120 cemeteries in at least 17 different countries; others have no known grave–their names are inscribed on war memorials throughout the world. They fought and died to save the oppressed, to free the occupied, and to preserve the liberties we now have. We hope the visible reminder of these signs will help our community to never forget the sacrifices of these heroes who called Sarnia their home.

            LOOKING AHEAD

“As the creators of this project, we are so appreciative of the community’s involvement and support that, with the support of our volunteers and contributors, we hope to continue this annual tradition for years to come.”

—Tom St. Amand, Tom Slater, Doug Woods (wheretheycalledhome@gmail.com)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We want to acknowledge the following groups and individuals for their extensive help in making “Where They Called Home” possible. What began as an idea in a casual conversation developed into a “true” community project in every way.

FINANCIAL  SUPPORTERS

SUPPORTERS AND VOLUNTEERS

SOURCES

Biographical information for each fallen soldier was taken from

The Sarnia War Remembrance Project. (4^th Edition) 2025.
Author: Tom Slater    Editors: Tom St. Amand and Lou Giancarlo

Information on the address of each fallen soldier is also found at the Lambton
County Archives, the Sarnia Public Library, Library and Archives Canada, and
The Streets of Sarnia Project.  Authors: Randy Evans and Tom St. Amand. 2022.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SARNIA-LAMBTON VETERAN AND FALLEN SOLDIERS

The Sarnia War Remembrance Project (4^th Edition)  Tom Slater  November 2025

PDF available free at three websites:

a) Lambton Museums website
https://www.lambtonmuseums.ca/en/lambton-county-archives/resources/Documents/Tom-Slater-The-Sarnia-War-Remembrance-Project-compressed.pdf

b) The City of Sarnia
https://www.sarnia.ca/living-here/history-of-sarnia

c) The Sarnia Historical Society
https://sarniahistoricalsociety.com/war-remembrance-project

Valour Remembered: Sarnia-Lambton War Stories   Tom Slater and Tom St. Amand
September 2023
Book available at The Book Keeper 500 Exmouth St., Sarnia
http://www.sarniabookkeeper.com/