For some families in Oak Bay, the First World War is removed by only one generation.

James Campbell was 22 years old when he enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1915. He was wounded at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917, but after recovering for several months at a hospital in England, he was sent back to the battle field.

He was killed shortly after during a raid on an enemy trench.

When CampbellB次元官网网址檚 niece heard that Oak BayB次元官网网址檚 archivist would be heading to Europe to honour local soldiers who were killed in the First World War, she asked the archivist to take a note she had written to her uncle.

It was a glorious sunny day in September when Oak Bay archivist Caroline Duncan visited the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France, where CampbellB次元官网网址檚 name is engraved.

His name is near the statue of Mother Canada, who looks to the east, mourning her sons.

B次元官网网址淚 read the note aloud while standing there by his name,B次元官网网址� said Duncan.

She pinned the note to a commemorative certificate with a District of Oak Bay lapel pin given to her by Oak BayB次元官网网址檚 then-mayor Nils Jensen. She placed it on a tomb in front of the memorial, along with the certificates of the other five Oak Bay soldiers commemorated at the site.

Although the names of 95 Oak Bay soldiers who died in the Second World War are engraved on the Oak Bay Cenotaph B次元官网网址� built as a Second World War memorial in the late 1940s B次元官网网址� in Uplands Park, the names of locals who died in the First World War have been lost over time.

As a project to mark the centenary of the war, two Oak Bay Archives volunteers B次元官网网址� Alan McKinlay and Leona Taylor B次元官网网址� researched military records, directories, censuses, newspapers, minutes, correspondence and other sources to discover how many of Oak Bay residents died between 1914 and 1921 (the date that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission sets for official war dead).

B次元官网网址淪o far, weB次元官网网址檝e identified 50 men killed during the conflict or who died of their wounds,B次元官网网址� said Duncan.

Given that Oak Bay had a population of about 2,500 during that period, Duncan said itB次元官网网址檚 hard to imagine the impact on the community after losing 50 men.

B次元官网网址淓very family would have been impacted; many losing a son, father or brother,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚t is devastating to think of the loss.B次元官网网址�

Before she headed to Europe, Duncan had already prepared a detailed spreadsheet of each personB次元官网网址檚 place of burial and grave location within their respective cemeteries.

Of the 50 Oak Bay war dead, 30 were buried in northern France and Belgium.

B次元官网网址淯sing this information, I prepared individual certificates with the name, rank, service number, date of death and biography of each man, and included a message from the residents of Oak Bay to say that we remember and honour the sacrifice they made a century ago,B次元官网网址� said Duncan. B次元官网网址淢ayor Jensen read and signed each one.B次元官网网址�

Duncan carried the 30 certificates, as well as Canadian flags, with her to Europe.

She arranged for private guides ahead of time, sending them a spreadsheet of cemetery locations. But even with their knowledge, some of the cemeteries were difficult to find.

B次元官网网址淥ne [cemetery] we visited was in an orchard and another in a copse of maples; some consisted of a few dozen burials while others had thousands and were once part of a large casualty clearing station,B次元官网网址� she described.

B次元官网网址淎ll were strikingly beautiful and peaceful.B次元官网网址�

Duncan said that what she most wanted to achieve with this project was to personalize the stories of Oak Bay residents.

B次元官网网址淭o remember each person as an individual B次元官网网址� a fellow resident who shopped along Oak Bay Avenue, attended local schools, watched the waves at Cattle Point, stood atop Gonzales Hill and surveyed the beauty of Oak Bay, just as we all do.B次元官网网址�

She says that after researching the men, their families and stories, she felt a personal attachment to them.

B次元官网网址淢any of those killed were young B次元官网网址� just teenagers or early 20s,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 have a 19-year-old son, and to think of the heartbreak each mother felt on receiving a telegram that her child was injured, or missing or killedB次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 overwhelming to think of.B次元官网网址�

Duncan believes that many of the grave sites she saw in September have never been visited by their families.

B次元官网网址淔or most Oak Bay families, travelling to Europe in the years after the war would not have been possible,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭o be there and to carry a message from our community is something that I felt very deeply.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淪tanding beside their graves was profoundly moving.B次元官网网址�

Jensen told Oak Bay B次元官网网址 that DuncanB次元官网网址檚 initiative was B次元官网网址渧ery impressive.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淲hen she first told me I was very excited for the simple reason that we should do everything to keep the memories alive of our heroes that paid the ultimate price.B次元官网网址�