This building is dedicated to the memory of Private Blake Neil Williamson. Blake was born in Ottawa on 25 January 1983. He spent most of his childhood in the Kemptville, Ontario area, attending Oxford-on-Rideau Public School, in Oxford Mills, before attending North Grenville District High School in Kemptville. Throughout his upbringing, he expressed an interest in the military and following his graduation from high school, enrolled in the Canadian Forces in 2003.
He undertook his recruit course at St-Jean, Quebec before completing his infantry battle school training in March 2004. He was posted to 1st Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment in Petawawa, where he trained in preparation for his first deployment to Afghanistan in January 2005. Shortly after the battalion’s return to Petawawa in August 2005, Private Williamson prepared for his second tour in Afghanistan that was to begin in August 2006.
On 14 October 2006, while his unit provided security for the construction of the Panjwa'i development road, they were attacked by insurgents. Private Williamson was killed when his vehicle was hit by a rocket propelled grenade.
The Kemptville Armoury was completed in early July 1914, just a few weeks before the start of the First World War. Throughout this conflict, the Armoury served as a military training center for Kemptville and the surrounding area. The Armoury continued its military vocation for many years as well as being used by the nearby high school cadet corps and the Great War Veterans’ Association. By the late 1960s, the Armoury had outlived its military function and the Kemptville Fire Department adapted it to house its equipment and vehicles. The building served as a fire hall until 2009 when the Fire Department moved.
Since then, the building has returned to its military roots and houses naval cadet units. On 11 November 2016 a formal dedication ceremony for the renaming of the armoury building to Private Blake Williamson Memorial Hall was hosted by the Municipality of North Grenville, presided over by members of Williamson's former regiment. A dedication plaque located to the left of the hall entrance on the south east side of the building was unveiled by North Grenville Mayor David Gordon and Major-General Omer Lavoie Commanding Officer of the 1st Canadian Division (Williamson’s former commanding officer).
