Legion Branch #86 - History of Service

Wetaskiwin Legion Branch 86 is located in Wetaskiwin  “the hills where peace was made” midst the ancestral and traditional gathering place of the  Plains Cree peoples whose histories, languages and cultures continue to influence our community and way of life. Wetaskiwin is one of Alberta's oldest cities.   It had its first school in 1894 and its first newspaper three years later.   An expanding population, railway line and economic future lead to city status in 1906.  

When war was declared in 1914  men from Wetaskiwin and surrounding area marched off to join the fight for freedom.  Over the next five years Veterans, young and old, returned home, silently bearing the life-long scars of battle in all its many forms - wounded, maimed, shell-shocked, suffering from the effects of mustard gas, as well as the grief of losing comrades killed at the front.  Military service was difficult, demanding and dangerous.  Returning to civilian life posed new challenges for the men and women who served in during the Great War.  

In the aftermath of World War I  around the world people began to gather in the understanding of a new language of remembrance for the brave souls who left home to courageously volunteer for the cause of freedom and peace.  In soladarity, as they did in the rest of Canada and the Commonwealth, people in Wetaskiwin gathered for Remembrance.  

At the same time, in Canada and elsewhere governments, communities and their institutions faced a new set of problems.  They had no experience, no policies, no health professionals or facilities, no preparation or safeguards in place for the mass return of men from The Great War.  Only Veterans could truly understand the kinds of hardships the veterans faced.  Various veteran and regimental service organations surfaced in splintered groups across Canada - founded by Veterans by Veterans.   With the vastness of Canada, these splintered groups, were isolated from each other  But there was such a vast need and with a shared purpose, the Great War Veterans Association (“GWVA”) was formed in 1917 and by 1921 their petition for unity emerged into the unificatoin of more than 700 branches across Canada.  Have a peek at their Aims and Objectives (1917)

In 1925, The Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League was founded. Shortly after, it was incorporated by a special Act of Parliament, and the Charter was issued in July 1926.