Hedley Boys, A Small Town's Big Part in the Great War

The last 3 months of the War bring yet more pain and grief to Hedley and the men still serving. In 1919 the survivors return and decide on commemorating their fallen comrades with one of the earliest WW1 memorials in Canada. 

Hedley feels the war and the town suffers as more men enlist. The Canadians recover from Vimy Ridge and by 1918 are leading the Allied advance. Men of the 54th have to carry out one of the most distasteful duties a soldier can do.

The 54th take part in one of the biggest military disasters in Canada's history, before participating in the great victory at Vimy Ridge.

The 54th arrive in France and at first go into the line around Ypres for their first taste of battle before moving to the Somme. There, they and Hedley experience heartbreaking loss. 

An already hard year gets tougher for both the men at the front and their loved ones at home. After fierce fighting around Ypres, the Canadians move south to the Somme. 

The bloodiest year of the war for Hedley. The year starts with optimism but events in France and at home change that.

17 men leave Hedley on the same day and travel to Penticton to enlist in the C.E.F. Most end up in the 54th Kootenay Battalion at Vernon camp. There they complete basic training before sailing to England.

The first volunteers leave and soon experience the horrors of war. The men of the C.E.F. are soon in action and men from Hedley and the Similkameen are there.

Hedley on the eve of war. The small community  of Hedley was a busy thriving town in 1914, with what seemed a promising future but events the other side of the world would forever change it.