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St. Paul's United Community of Faith Milton

1 week ago

Historic Moment for the 5 windows at the rear of the Sanctuary27 April 2025The old saying “familiarity breeds contempt” aptly applies to many things we have gotten so used to that we take them for granted and we lose our appreciation of their significance. Today, you will be challenged after the service to take a stroll to the back of the sanctuary and really take a good look at the five memorial window panels which the Wesleyan congregation dedicated on Peace Day, July 19, 1919 honoring seven young men associated with the congregation who died in the first World War.The center window contains an angel dressed on one side in armor, on the other in biblical clothes. She carries a palm branch, a symbol of peace. The window on the left shows a sword (death) mounted on a maple leaf wreath, which bears the names of Captain Alfred C. Bastedo who was killed in the battle of Langemarck, Belgium on April 23, 1915 at the age of 29. He was thought to be the first young man from Halton to enlist in 1914 while he was a medical student at the University of Toronto. Gunner Fred Walsh, 21, died in action on Oct. 27, 1916 during the first battle of the Somme. He left behind a wife and a young son he never met. Private Cedric Harrop was 19 when he was killed in action near Paschendale, Belgium in October 1917.The window on the right features a flame, signifying life, backed by a wreath of poppies, and bears the names of four other young Milton men who died during the last allied offensive battles in the summer of 1918. They are Private J. Watts Archer, 28, Sgt. Roland A. Merrett, 22, Private Elmer Tuck, 20, and Lance Corporal Alexander Meachem Denyes, 19, only son of J. M Denyes, after whom a Milton school is named. The two side windows are each centered by the crown, representing Canada.Historian Arthur R. M. Lower wrote this quote which appears in Milton Remembers World War 1 co-authored by John Challinor and Jim Dills, “Canada entered the war a colony, she emerged from it close to an independent state”. Let us acknowledge our gratitude to these brave young men every time we walk past these windows. ... See MoreSee Less

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