A forgotten First World War veteran is getting a gravestone 79 years after his death — thanks to a group of schoolchildren and a historical society in New Westminster, B.C.
For nearly eight decades, William Stevenson had been lying in an unmarked grave in New Westminster’s Fraser Cemetery. When he died from a stroke in 1939, he had no living family there and had no one to pay for a proper headstone.
The Society of the Officers of Honorable Guard is a non-profit group that aims to educate youth about various wars and B.C. history,and regularly take students on trips to the cemetery.
But one group of youngsters wanted to do more than just tour the grounds.
“For the past six years we’ve been bringing schoolchildren to the cemetery to teach them about these individuals,” Robert Rathbun, a member of the group, told CTV Vancouver. “They’ve always questioned: why are there no stones on some of these graves?”
He said this one “hit close to home.”
So the children prompted the historical society to begin fundraising for a gravestone. After a year they raised $4,500 — four times than what was needed.
The money was raised through a GoFundMe page set up by the group. The description describes how the idea was in line with their core belief of “preserving the memory of these men and women.”
“We are teaching children about these individuals, and tending the headstones as a way of bringing history alive,” the post goes on to say.
Stevenson’s gravestone was unveiled at a small ceremony on Saturday, where some of the children also cleaned some of the headstones. Since 2003, the group has also been working with children to help clean war graves in the cemetery.
“Next week (we’re) celebrating 100 years from the end of the First World War and we’re remembering all these men and women who gave their lives,” Rathbun said. “And we don’t want to forget about those that came home and buried here”
With a report from CTV Vancouver
