Alberta

The Lieutenant Norma Stowe Plaque is part of the Letters Home installation on Trasimene Heritage Walk. It was created in 2020 by Canada Lands Company who uniquely redeveloped Calgary’s former Canadian Forces Base. Lieutenant Stowe's story is told through the letters she wrote home during her service in the Second World War. Norma Stowe served as a nurse with the Canadian military and was stationed in South Africa.

The Private Alexander Decoteau Plaque is part of the Letters Home installation on Trasimene Heritage Walk. It was created in 2020 by Canada Lands Company who uniquely redeveloped Calgary’s former Canadian Forces Base. Private Decoteau's story is told through the letters he wrote home during his service in the First World War.

Alexander Decoteau, a Cree from Saskatchewan born in 1887, became Canada’s first Indigenous police officer and competed as a runner in the 5-km race in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1916, Decoteau joined the Canadian army as a battalion messenger, running messages across battlefields in the face of enemy fire. Tragically, Private Decoteau was killed in October 1917 during the Battle of Passchendaele, just before his 30th birthday.

In his memory, Alex Decoteau remembrance runs are held every year in Canada and Belgium.

The Trasimene Heritage Walk is a tribute to the Canadians who bravely served our country in military conflicts, and honours Currie’s rich military history. The walk was originally named after a Second World War battle near Lake Trasimene. Located in Tuscany, the Trasimene Line was a German defensive position that the Allies were able to penetrate, ultimately forcing the Germans out of Italy. This became a significant victory for the Allies. Three divisions of Canada’s First Armoured Brigade, including the Calgary, Ontario and Three Rivers regiments, received the Trasimene Line battle honour.

The Trasimene Heritage Walk pathways are part of the original wooded areas of the Currie Barracks where numerous initiatives celebrate the barracks' history. Located on the heritage walk is the Letters Home installation — stories told through the letters that four Canadians wrote home during their service in military conflicts.

For three days in August 1918, Canadian soldiers fought southward from the Scarpe River in France against desperate German defenders. During that period the 3rd Canadian Division engaged, and almost annihilated, two complete German divisions and part of a third. After bitter fighting, the Canadians had succeeded in driving back the enemy eight kilometers, capturing 3,300 prisoners and large stocks of weapons. The Battle of Scarpe cost 5,801 Canadian casualties, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry losing almost 200 of that number.

Currie, a residential area in South West Calgary bounded by the Lincoln Park community to the southwest, Sarcee Road SW to the west, 33 Avenue SW to the north, and Crowchild Trail to the east, is the unique result of the redevelopment of Calgary’s former Canadian Forces Base by Canada Lands Company. The land of Currie was previously used for training and operational administration.

The theme of Currie was developed to honour the deep military roots of the land on which it's built and recognizes the Second World War. This theme is reflected in a variety of ways, including Parade Square, Valour Park, Victoria Cross Boulevard and Trasimene Heritage Walk.

Valour Park features small, engineered bridges reminiscent of the ones Canadian Veterans would have used to cross bodies of water during ground warfare.

A boulevard in the Currie Neighbourhood is named in hour of Victoria Cross recipients and the boulevard's park space is lined with brass plaques commemorating 16 Canadians who served in the Second World War and received the Victoria Cross. Each plaque is engraved with a picture and biography of the war hero.

Honourary Captain Reverend John Weir Foote
Squadron Leader Ian Willoughby Bazalgette

Garrison Woods, a residential area located between Crowchild Trail, 20th Street, 34th Avenue and 47th Avenue in South West Calgary, is the unique result of the redevelopment of Calgary’s former Canadian Forces Base by Canada Lands Company. The land of Garrison Woods was previously used as private married quarters for members of the military and their families. 

The theme of Garrison Woods was developed to honour the deep military roots of the land on which it's built and recognizes the First World War. This theme is reflected in a variety of ways, including street and park names. It was completed in 2004, and is home to 14 battle honour monuments.

A retired Taurus Armoured Recovery Vehicle (ARV) was dedicated as a living memorial to Corporal Nathan Hornburg on September 10, 2017. A plaque with Nathan Hornburg's likeness was unveiled during the ceremony as a permanent tribute to the Regular and Reserve soldiers who served in Afghanistan. On September 24, 2007, while serving on a NATO mission in Afghanistan, Corporal Hornburg was killed while helping to rescue a disabled tank in the Panjwai District, Kandahar. Hornburg’s tank commander noted that he was one of “those rare individuals that just had a very soft, big, caring heart, but who was also a warrior and a professional.”

The Taurus ARV was originally used to recover and tow armoured vehicles disabled by combat damage or mechanical failure during military operations. Acquired by The Military Museums in November 2016, it was previously deployed in Afghanistan used in support of operations with the Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians), B Squadron, who deployed there in October 2006.

Stanley Livingstone Jones was born in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, and educated at Acadia College before beginning his career as a school teacher in Manitoba. Around 1901, he re-located to Calgary, was admitted to the bar, and began practicing law. He married Alice B. Todd of Walkerton, Ontario in 1904. 

Stanley was an enthusiast of the war and a devout patriot of the British Empire. He left his law practice to participate, first in the Boer War and then in the Balkan conflict. In the latter conflict, he also served as an observer and correspondent to the Canadian Press. Stanley was a visible figure in Calgary, involved in many civic affairs, and is responsible for the African War Memorial statue, which stands in Central Memorial Park today. Stanley Jones was also one of the first (indeed, often rumoured to be the first) Canadians to enlist in the First World War.

He joined the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry on 10 August 1914 in Ottawa as a lieutenant. Stanley was wounded on 25 January 1915 and returned to duty. He subsequently became a major and was seriously wounded and captured at Sanctuary Wood on 2 June 1916. Major Stanley Jones died of his wounds on 8 June 1916 after being taken prisoner by German troops, eight days before what would have been his 39th birthday.

Bridgeland School was renamed Stanley Jones School on 5 September 1916.