When Jack Hird walks along Orillia’s main street, he sees familiar faces.
All he has to do is look up at the dozens of banners hanging on posts along Mississaga Street, bearing the faces of local veterans.
“I think back to what they did and it brings back a lot of memories,” said Hird, who served with the British Army in Egypt and Kenya in the early 1950s.
The banners pay tribute to veterans of various conflicts, and Hird hopes everyone takes the time to read their names.
“It’s to bring people to the point that when they look at them, they know what the heritage is and what it means to us — and not just to us, but to the families,” he said.
The 86-year-old feels it’s important for younger generations to recognize veterans “put their lives on the line, and a lot of them volunteered for it.”
That’s when he teared up, thinking about those who offered to serve before being asked to.
Hird didn’t have a chance to volunteer. He was conscripted.
A member of the Lancashire Fusiliers, Hird and his battalion shipped out to Egypt on New Year’s Eve 1951. He remained there until August 1952 before being sent to Kenya, where he served until September 1953.
His job in Kenya was to assist local police during the Mau Mau Uprising. That conflict pitted the rebel Kenya Land and Freedom Army against British forces and pro-British Kenyan fighters.
Hird doesn’t talk much about the more brutal parts of the conflict, instead focusing on moments like the time a field of fireflies lit up in unison, and when he found himself sitting in a room with a local man’s unleashed pet cheetah. Some memories are too difficult to recount.
Hird was 79 years old when he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after his wife, Barb, made him go to the doctor.
“Barb dragged me to the doctor’s because I was having regular nightmares,” he said. “I haven’t had a nightmare since.”
Today’s soldiers are having their own traumatic experiences, he noted, adding it’s important for people to recognize veterans of all generations.
The banners help, but Hird hopes they also draw people to the Royal Canadian Legion.
“They don’t realize what is in here. It’s part of Orillia’s history,” he said, pointing to the model of the HMCS Orillia and some of the actual artifacts that were on board. “Some of the things that are in here, you won’t find anywhere else.”
Hird, a member of the executive at Branch 34, would like to see more people join the legion. Membership is now open to those who have no connection to the forces.
The legion offers social opportunities through dinners, dances, and pool and darts tournaments. It also gives back to the community, not just to veterans, by offering bursaries and sponsoring minor sports teams.
“It never stops. It’s all year long,” he said. “We’re always supporting the community.”
Like her father, Annette Hird hopes the banners lead to more awareness about the legion and its services.
When the banners went up, she began taking photos of them and posting them to her Facebook page. Friends took notice and some of them headed out to take photos of their own relatives who were veterans.
“It’s fascinating how much you learn and how much these people sacrificed for our freedom,” she said. “Now they’re going to go research what their family members did. It reminds people when they look up at (the banners) that these are heroes.”
