By Carolyn Prellwitz
The Cowichan Valley Museum has a new temporary exhibit now on display featuring the First World War. The display from the Royal BC Museum has been complimented with artifacts and photos featuring those involved in the Great War from the Cowichan Valley.
The RBCM display is in both English and French and provides a lot of food for thought on such topics as “McBride’s Navy” where the B.C. premier at the time purchased two submarines — the first in Canada — with provincial funds to protect the B.C. coast.
Another RBCM display panel is entitled “The War in the Air” and features Raymond Collishaw after whom the Nanaimo Airport was renamed to the Nanaimo-Collishaw Air Terminal in his honour in 1999.
The First World War display at the Museum will be available for viewing until Thursday, December 15, 2022.
The Cowichan Valley Museum is open Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., including Remembrance Day on Friday, Nov. 11 following the service at the Duncan Cenotaph in Charles Hoey, VC, Park next to the museum.
In addition, on Wednesday, Nov. 9, Robert Stitt, local author and aviation historian, will be presenting to members of the Cowichan Historical Society a video documentary via Zoom of the 2014 recovery of the four crew members in a RCAF Avro Anson that crashed near Port Renfrew in 1942. There may be space for members of the public to join this special Zoom Remember November presentation. Those wishing a ZOOM invitation should email their request to join this event to cvmuseum.archives@gmail.com. Zoom invitations for the event will then be emailed to non-CHS members on November 8 on an availability basis, first come/first served.
Carolyn Prellwitz is the vice-president of the Cowichan Historical Society.