BDA volunteer Jo Shannon is among the volunteers who’ve been working to bring to life the ‘One Town, Two Wars’ event. /Sarah Hyatt/MBC
The stories of several young men from Brighton who fought in the First World War and Second World War have been unearthed and will be brought back to life at a special Brighton Digital Archives (BDA) event next Tuesday, Nov. 4, just ahead of Remembrance Day.
BDA volunteers like sisters Jo Shannon and Hyacinthe Eykelhof are among those who’ve been digging in to bring the “One Town, Two Wars,” video presentation to life since last year.
This project also started with a delve into donated archival materials from the Bangay collection.
Shannon tells us more about how it all started.
This discovery inspired volunteers to keep digging.
“I visit the cenotaph in Brighton’s Memorial Park, and I look at the names of the men killed in action, and I think to myself that each one of (these) people is more than just a name,” continues Shannon. “(This is a person) who had hopes, who had dreams, who had family, (and) community (and) went to school here and walked the same streets that we walk every single day.
“And I thought, I’d like to maybe put a video together talking about these people and what happened to them.”
After much hard work, that video production will now be unveiled at the Brighton Public Library next Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend.
Shannon tells us more about what is at the centre of the roughly 25-minute production.
It’s about ensuring these stories – and these people – live on and are remembered – and it’s a video about sacrifice, courage, hope, unity and resilience, explains Shannon.
Eykelhof says the production will delve into the stories of two soldiers from the First World War and two soldiers from the Second World War and what they went through.
“It’s just mind blowing what they dealt with – the bravery that they showed,” says Eykelhof.
Many of those who went off to war were basically teenagers, adds Shannon.
The pair purposely don’t want to give too much away in terms of names and the like until the big unveiling, but Shannon says this is a chance to “connect.”
Library visitors may have already noticed an exhibition set up in the lobby area in advance as part of the upcoming event. These vignettes help highlight many others who stepped up to protect their families and neighbours – and people they never met, in places they had never heard of.
The Nov. 4 event will also include a short presentation and some displays, including some artifacts from the wars.
No registration is needed to take part, but interested attendees are encouraged to arrive early.
“Remembrance Day is an important day, but I think that we should never forget throughout the year what these people did for us and did for our country,” says Shannon.
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)
