About the Project

This project is a volunteer, non-profit undertaking

PROJECT CREATORS
Tom St. Amand, Tom Slater, Doug Woods

SIGN ARTWORK BY
Bennett Slater
An oil painting based on the WWI “Tommy” soldier
that stands atop the Sarnia cenotaph in Veterans Park

GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY

Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 62

NOVEMBER 2024

http://www.sarniaswarfallenwheretheycalledhome.ca

ABOUT THE PROJECT

            BACKGROUND

          This November, to honour the sacrifices made by all those who served—especially the fallen and their families—we are introducing “The Sarnia War Remembrance Sign Project: Where They Called Home.”  The same type of project has been established in such cities as Toronto and Ottawa.  We began in February 2024 and, along the way we had much 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 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 passing; the soldier’s
photo if one is available; 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 with each sign.
Through research, we have confirmed the addresses of approximately 250 of the 288
fallen soldiers whose names are inscribed on the Cenotaph at Veterans Park. These are the
homes they lived in 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 80 houses which fallen soldiers once called home do not 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 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 Friday, November 1, and will be collecting them on
the morning of Tuesday, 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 these signs will help to further honour their sacrifices and to
never forget the fallen soldiers who called Sarnia their home.

LOOKING AHEAD

If this project proves to be successful, we hope to expand it next year as our research continues.

—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. In nine months, what began as an idea has 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. 2020.

Author: Tom Slater    Editors: Tom St. Amand and Lou Giancarlo

Information on the address of each fallen soldier was 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

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SARNIA-LAMBTON VETERAN AND FALLEN SOLDIERS

The Sarnia War Remembrance Project (3^rd Edition)   Tom Slater                 

November 2020

PDF available free at;

Lambton Museums website;

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

and

The Sarnia Historical Society

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/