Our project aims to compile all of the names and stories of the citizens from Chatham-Kent who served in both World War (WW) I & II, on the Gathering Our Heroes (GOH) website.
Gathering Our Heroes is a partnership project of:
- Jerry Hind, The Search Goes On…. and Curator of the GOH project
- The Chatham-Kent Museum
- IODE Kent Regiment Chapter
- Abstract Marketing
The Background…
During WW I, members of the 24th Kent Regiment Chapter IODE canvassed the community to obtain information on our citizens in the armed services and recorded it in the Books of Remembrance. After WW II, members did the same for the men and women of that conflict. In total there are 13 beautiful Books of Remembrance which were given to the Chatham-Kent Museum for safekeeping. The Museum has graciously shared the digitized books on our website, as they are a frequently used research resource.
Many of the heroes of both conflicts were not included in the original Books of Remembrance. Local Historian and Curator of our website, Jerry Hind, has researched both the WW I & II CK heroes extensively, looking for their names, photos and stories. To date, 12 238 CK heroes from both conflicts, have been discovered.
Help Us Complete the Story
Share your CK WW I or II hero with us, by completing the “Submit a Hero” form. Your information will go directly to our Curator.
To be included in the GOH website data base, your hero must have been either:
- Born in Chatham-Kent
- Living in Chatham-Kent at the time of enlistment
- Enlisted in Chatham-Kent
The GOH Team
Jerry Hind, The Search Goes On…., GOH Website Curator
It is hard to believe that on November 11th, 2005, I placed a wreath on the Cenotaph in Ridgetown in memory of the short life of a young solider, for whom I had written a story for the town newspaper.
I never imagined that I would start out looking for the men and women who served in the Great War of 1914 – 1918. At first, I searched only the 1914 enlistments then all of the enlistments of that conflict, from Chatham-Kent. By 2008, there were several thousand, then it was on to the enlistments of the second Great War of 1939 – 1945.
Today, we have over 12 238 enlistments and still counting.
Garna Argenti, IODE Kent Regiment Chapter, GOH Project Coordinator
In 2008, after the re-dedication of the Cenotaph in Chatham, to those who had been missed in the WWI Books of Remembrance, IODE Kent Regiment Chapter partnered with Jerry Hind to find those WWII heroes who were not included in the books. We began by hosting an event at the Downtown Chatham Centre mall to see if there would be any interest in this project.
We were overwhelmed by the response, and so the Gathering Our Heroes project was born. The GOH website was created in 2013, as the 100th anniversary project of IODE Kent Regiment Chapter and supported by a New Horizons for Seniors grant from the Government of Canada.
Jane Currie, GOH Data Entry Specialist
I update the website for Gathering Our Heroes through IODE. I input the names of heroes from Chatham-Kent and include their service and family information, which we have obtained from many sources. We rely on the public record and the information that a family sends to us for their hero’s profile.
I am honoured to assist in this project to allow future generations a glimpse of their relative’s involvement in WWI & WWII and their sacrifices, for the freedom we enjoy today.
The Chatham-Kent Museum
The 13 Books of Remembrance, created by Kent Regiment IODE, now the property of the Museum, have been digitized for preservation. The Books of Remembrance can be viewed at Museum and on the GOH website. The mandate of the Museum is the preservation of our CK history, which includes our military history and the Books of Remembrance.
Abstract Marketing
Abstract Marketing is a full-service marketing and website design firm, based in Chatham, Ontario. In 2013, they created the GOH website and continue to update and host it, supporting our project with training and trouble-shooting expertise.
