A new initiative will pay tribute to veterans from the Weyburn area who served their country in wartime. Craig Bird, a local military historian who is the president and founder of the Southeast Military Museums, has launched a veterans banner program which has so far been put up in Weyburn, Estevan, Stoughton, Midale, Carlyle, Lampman and Redvers.
Bird would like to see banners hang from light standards on arterial roads in Weyburn. The banners will have images of Canadian Forces members from the Weyburn area who perished during service to Canada, and also photos of those who served, survived and came back to the area.
The banners measure 30 by 36 inches, are double-sided, and have different themes.
The two banners put up in the area of the Weyburn Legion on Third Street feature veterans from the First and Second World Wars.
Located near the Legion is a banner for Flying Officer David Renwick Agnew of Weyburn, who was killed in action on June 29, 1943, while on a mission over Cologne, Germany. He is buried at Groesbeek Canadian war cemetery near Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands.
Agnew perished on just his third operational mission, the son of John Howard and Gertrude Lucy (Brownell) Agnew, who came from Manitoba and Nova Scotia respectively, and retired to Regina during the war. David was born at Hanley and worked for CN for a few months before enlisting at Regina late in 1941.
The second banner, located near the memorial park by City Hall, features Private Lee Crane of Weyburn, who was killed in action on Jan. 5, 1917 during the preparations for Vimy Ridge, and is buried at Villers Station cemetery, Villers-au-Bois, northwest of Arras, Pas-de-Calais, France.
He was the son of George Crane, who homesteaded NE30-7-14-W2 just south of Weyburn. Lee was born at Yellow Grass and was working as a bank clerk when he enlisted at Weyburn late in 1915. Note that while Lee’s attestation paper clearly gives his birthplace as Yellow Grass, relatives assert that the family arrived in Saskatchewan about 1902 from Balsam Lake, Wisconsin.
Bird is offering three different banner purchase or museum sponsorship Levels.
The first is the donor level, which covers the banner purchase for $200. For this price the banner will hang for the season.
Bird would like a photo of your loved one, preferably in uniform, along with the time frame of service, unit and area of residence. You have the option of keeping the banner after the season or donate it to the museum to be reused in future projects. There is a $200 tax receipt eligible if the banner is donated to the museum.
For the corporate level, this covers the mounting hardware purchase for $300. For this price you would donate the banner mounting hardware in the community of your choice, to be utilized by the museum and community for a current banner mounting and in the future.
The third is the commemoration level, which covers the banner and hardware purchase for $500. This would get you the donor level banner and options, and the corporate level mounting hardware in one package. The mounting hardware would remain with the museum for future projects. The donor would get a $300 tax receipt or $500 for the banner donation to the museum.
The following information would be needed for a banner: A photo of the person for commemoration, preferably in uniform; name and rank; unit served with (if known); era (World War 1, World War 2, Korea, Afghanistan, Peacekeeping, Peacetime, etc.); who you want in the “In Remembrance” portion of the banner.
