Stratford Perth Veteran Banner Project

We are thrilled to announce the continuation of the Veteran Banner Remembrance Project for 2023 with a total of 54 banners now installed in Stratford’s downtown core. For the past five years, the Stratford Perth Museum has taken leadership on the design, research, and display of these banners to acknowledge the lives and sacrifices made by our local servicemen and women. On Sept. 13, 2022, The Stratford Perth Museum and Stratford Royal Canadian Legion asked city council to consider a 10-year sign-bylaw variance that will allow for as many as 100 banners, each displaying a local veteran. The collaborative efforts of our community partners has resulted in the annual banner installation on Stratford’s downtown light standards for a four-week period near Remembrance Day.

Thanks to the substantial funding provided by the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP), which is a federal grants contributions program of Employment and Social Development Canada, the Stratford Perth Museum has also launched a complementary Webhosting Veteran Banner Database to incorporate supplementary stories about each veteran displayed on the banners. This added component to the Veteran Banner program offers additional information and accessible options to view the banners year-round. The new project direction was first inspired by the numerous artifact donations and veteran records the museum has received from residents who have observed and appreciated the banners displayed downtown. In response, the museum’s long-term objectives are to add 20 banners annually in the downtown core while updating of our Webhosting Veteran Banner Database to include the new banners and their associated veteran records. We also plan to offer this exclusive veteran banner content within presentations at our local long-term care centres; introduce relevant artifacts in our Perth Up Regiment Exhibit; and share veteran provenance by means of satellite exhibits shown at various locations in our county.

These aims are intended to better reflect the veteran’s story by assembling comprehensive material in the form of personal storytelling videos, written bios, photographs, and artifact donations offered by local residents. The webhosting database that includes each veteran banner record is available via our website free of charge with remote access for the general public. Our revised vision for the project is only made possible through the generous support of the Rotary Club of Stratford, Stratford Royal Canadian Legion and community donors. We hope these memorial devices and new opportunities for reverence will expand our veteran inclusivity and community connections to help bridge understanding of war and conflict and the necessity for change, resiliency, and advocacy for peace.

Please visit https://stratfordperthveteranbannerproject.ca/ to view the banners and their stories. This is an ongoing project and will gradually be updated throughout the year and as more banners are added to the downtown core display. 

If you are interested in providing supporting documents for the existing banners or if you are not able to locate records submitted for the veteran banner site, please contact Megan Patterson, Manager of Education and Programs at groups@stratfordperthmuseum.ca for assistance.