Remembrance Day 1930

On Remembrance Day 1930, the flagstaff and cairn to the memory of the Grandview lads who had fallen in the First War were dedicated in Grandview Park by Archbishop DePencier.

The memorial had been the idea of Catherine Bufton who, with her husband Hubert, ran the very popular Bufton’s Florists on the Drive. She had made the war memorial the primary project of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Chamber of Commerce for several years and her efforts had finally paid off.

Thousands turned out for the dedication. Mayor Malkin gave a brief but “stirring” speech and massed choirs sang “O Canada”, “For All The Saints” and “O God Our Help In Ages Past.”  Finally, the solemn ceremony was completed with two minutes’ silence.

Hubert Bufton organized Remembrance Day ceremonies at the Park for several years thereafter.  When the Grandview Branch of the Canadian Legion was formed in 1945, they took over responsibility.

[See King 2011, p.28; Province and Sun, 11/11/1930; and News Herald 1/7/38]