Woodstock ready to remember its fallen veterans and military history: Royal Canadian Legions celebrate 100 years in 2026

(Contributed Photo)

Lee Griffi, Editor

The City of Woodstock, along with the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 55, will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the group on Nov. 11.

The Remembrance Day ceremony will take place at the Cenotaph and everyone is welcome to gather to pay tribute to the courage and sacrifice of those who served and continue to serve our country during times of war, military conflict and peace.

For those unable to attend in person, the ceremony will take place on Nov. 11 starting at 10:30 a.m., in Victoria Park. Rogers TV Woodstock will broadcast the ceremony live starting at 10:45 a.m. and will re-broadcast at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

For the full ceremony details, visit www.cityofwoodstock.ca/remembranceday.

Branch 55 Office Manager Kelly-Ann Van Marrum said overall the Legion is in good shape.

“Our membership numbers have grown over the last year, as it has been free for some, that being said some have stayed on as members and some have left. We have also noticed that we are starting to get more volunteers as well which is wonderful. I also want to mention that it’s great to see some of our Afghanistan vets coming in to the Legion again and it's wonderful to see everyone working together as a family.”

She added change is happening in the Legion for the good.

Branch 55 is celebrating 100 years of the Legion with a gala on Dec. 18 at the Woodstock’s Unifor Hall. Tickets are $100 and are only available at the Branch office. The event will be catered by Sixthirtynine.

“We are still looking for donations to keep this going and make it a success,” explained Van Marrum.

Local military historian, researcher, speaker and soldier, Stephen J. Smith, is playing an important role locally as Remembrance Day approaches.

“Oxford County's military history goes back to the formation of the Oxford Militia when the County was brand new in 1798, formed with local defence in mind the Militia played a roll in the War of 1812,” said Smith.

“There were at least a few dozen members present at the capture of Fort Detroit, as well as other well know battles, including the last official land battle in Canada referred to as the Battle of Malcolms Mill near Oakland which at the time was within the borders of Oxford County.”

He added local soldiers were redesignated in 1863 to the more well know name of 22nd Oxford Rifles.

“These men took part in most of the formative actions of Canada like the repelling of the Fenians in the Raid of 1866. Members volunteered en masse for WW1, WW2, and Korea.”

Smith said as the Branch historian he is responsible for the care and preservation of an educational collection, not only keeping the history of the Branch, but also to help preserve and tell the stories of our Veteran members and their families.

“I also assist in researching family members service, often assisting families in deciphering service files to better understand what they did during the war.”

He added members of the legion and the public can help by sharing their family military history with him.

“We can scan documents and photos if they would like to share them. If they are looking to donate their items, photos or documents we can help them find a good home.”

If people would like to learn more, they are welcome to contact the Branch.

“Oxford has many wonderful small to medium-size museums where some of the local stories have been preserved and I always encourage people to visit Oxford County Archive who have been our partners in preserving local military history for years,” he explained.

Follow the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 55’s social media to hear about more historical preservation and presentation projects in the future.