Matt Boles, Heritage Arts, January 19, 2023, VOL. 4 ISSUE 11

The wonderful townsfolk of Fort Erie pass by the Mathers Arch War Memorial and are reminded
to pray for the men of war. We honour those lost during wartime in many ways, especially in
November. The best way to honour them is to remember them. Have we made a grave error in
not observing the women who served our country during previous wars?
In Russia during World War Two (WW2), a woman named Ludmilla Pavlichenko was one of two
thousand snipers. She set a record of three hundred and nine confirmed kills. Thirty-six of them
were enemy snipers. She was wounded in battle four times.
Canada was not invaded like Russia. Canadian female skills and courage were not tested on
the battlefields. Had they been sent to enemy lines, they may have proven themselves equally
as brave. How many women of Fort Erie served our country in other capacities? How many
have been long forgotten, neglected and/or dishonoured by our poor memory?
At the time, the law prohibited Canadian women from serving in combat roles. Given the
opportunity, many Canadian ladies would have proudly entered the battlefields. Many female
law enforcement officers are excellent marksmen.
In WW2, fifty-thousand women served in non-combatant roles. In the Royal Canadian Air Force
Women’s Division, the Canadian Women’s Army Corp and the Royal Canadian Naval Service.
As well, many served as nurses or worked at home in essential occupations normally held by
men. As a result of the dedication of those women to our country, more men were available to
serve in combat roles.
Fort Erie will not have a sniper like Ludmilla, but there must be a woman who died for our
country (our town) that deserves recognition on our war memorial. Do you know of a woman
from Fort Erie on a ship sunk crossing the Atlantic, who died while serving in Britain? Are their
sacrifices less worthy than that of a man? Shouldn’t they be honoured and remembered if they
willingly risked their lives to defend democracy?
More than sixty nurses died in WWI. Maybe one of them was from Fort Erie. Perhaps the
readers of this fine paper have information on the women of war.
Heritage Arts (HA) volunteers research four diverse categories of Fort Erie: sites, sports, black
history and military history. We work from home or in a separate research room located inside
the Leisureplex. HA has a showcase on the second level of the arena which highlights different
Fort Erie artists and athletes.
Heritage Arts hires local artists to paint beautiful live-size sports heroes. They are displayed
along the walking track. Each year HA donates a five hundred dollar bursary to a deserving high
school student.
Heritage Arts possesses Fort Erie Times newspaper articles from 1940–2000 which are a
valuable part of our research materials. We are seeking help finding out about Fort Erie’s military
history, especially that of women.
Heritage Arts have a Facebook page which is in dire need of expansion. Our group is always
looking for interested volunteers. A current need is for someone who could scan and post pictures
to the HA site to share our history with others. It would be greatly appreciated if people could
volunteer.
We never want to forget any of our heroes