Lorraine Wilkie, president of the Flaxcombe branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, and Dave Chudyk, past president of the branch, gather for a photo opportunity by a commemorative cake on Oct. 20 at the branch’s 90th anniversary celebration at the Flaxcombe Community Hall. The event included a performance of Tommy Goes to War by actor Vincent Murphy of Regina.
Kenneth Brown
of The Crossroads
Members of the Flaxcome Legion have gathered with other supporters to mark the branch’s 90th anniversary, and to raise money for an important cenotaph project.
The Royal Canadian Legion branch held its celebration on Oct. 20 at the Flaxcombe Community Hall. The 90th anniversary celebration included a supper, a silent auction, a short program and a one-person theatrical performance of Tommy Goes to War presented by Vincent Murphy.
Lorraine Wilke, the branch’s president, addressed the 65 people on hand for the anniversary celebration. She spoke about her family’s long history of involvement in the Legion and she mentioned the pride she had as a young student to see her father Eric Coutts at school Remembrance Day functions in his role as the branch’s Sergeant at Arms.
She said the branch’s 90th anniversary was on April 26, but members wanted to wait until the fall to hold a celebration in hopes of people being finished with harvest. Although it did not work out as planned due to an ongoing harvest, the event went ahead.
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The branch also wanted to use the event as a fundraiser to help restore the cenotaph in Flaxcombe, a monument that was dedicated on Oct. 27, 1929. Wilke said the branch decided to use the anniversary event to commemorate the cenotaph as well, so the milestones were combined into a single celebration.
Wilke also provided a brief history of the branch as written by her father. The Flaxcombe Legion has 36 members including eight lifetime members, and about 13 of the members are active today. She said it is an active branch.
She noted that the branch holds Remembrance Day services, runs an annual Poppy Campaign, participates in Remembrance Day services at Westcliffe Composite School, holds an annual Legion poster and literacy contest for Westcliffe students, sponsors a Legion track and field student, and donates to the Santa’s Hut program and Canadian War Museum.
The branch’s president said when people purchase poppies, they are helping local veterans because the funds stay in their communities. The branch also helped to sponsor a local student to represent the west central region as a Junior Team Canada Ambassador.
Wilke said the performance of “Tommy Goes to War” focuses on the struggles of soldiers in and after the First World War. She spoke about the branch’s Grey Cup Pool, the silent auction and 50/50 draw that were ongoing at the event.
The Flaxcombe Legion was founded by a group of Great War Veterans’ Association members after an organizational meeting on June 25, 1927. The branch’s charter was issued in April 1928, and the charter was presented at the cenotaph dedication ceremony in October 1929.
An Alsask branch was established and operated from 1962-67 before re-joining the Flaxcombe branch. A Ladies Auxiliary was formed in 1960 and remained active until 2003 when its members joined the branch. The branch’s current hall, an old school house, is at a neutral site in Marengo.
Murphy, a resident of Regina who is originally from Flin Flon, Man., had an uncle named Tommy who went to war with several of his brothers. Tommy is the main character of the play and Murphy acted out the role at various points of Tommy’s life from when he made the decision to enlist until he had become a senior citizen.
Murphy told the tale of Tommy using a range of characters. The characters included a recruiting officer, Tommy’s family members, a war general and, of course, Tommy. The play starts as Murphy portrays the recruiting officer.
The recruiting officer shouts to the room of potential recruits to step up to protect the wives and children of their communities. Amid promises of the King of England’s support and a salary of $1.10 per day, the potential recruits are told to enlist right away to have a chance to kill a German soldier before the war ends.
Tommy’s decision to go to war is not a popular decision in his home. His sister has her concerns and his mother tells him she does not want him to go to war. Tommy does go to war, and his experience was similar to other enlistees.
When in England, an army general tells the soldiers they are going on the English Channel crossing and no further details will be made available until after they cross the channel. He says no one is to tell anyone anything to maintain secrecy and soldiers would be executed for not following orders.
Murphy added bits of humour throughout the play and it helped to balance out the more serious parts of the performance. The play touched on Tommy’s return home where his father did not even recognize him at first, but the family dog did.
In an interview after the event, Wilke said it was a nice evening and people enjoyed Murphy’s performance. She said the branch’s hall is in Marengo because it is a neutral site located between Flaxcombe and Alsask. It made sense to hold the celebration in Flaxcombe because the branch was started there.
“It was nice to be in Flaxcombe,” she said, recognizing that the village helps to maintain the cenotaph grounds and it is quite a milestone for the branch to be celebrating 90 years of history. “The support was awesome.”
Wilke said she wanted to thank all of the supporters including the sponsors. The Village of Flaxcombe sponsored the supper, a meal prepared by the local community club, to allow all of the proceeds to go towards the cenotaph restoration project.
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