Royal Canadian Legion Branch 29 since 1926

The Royal Canadian Legion has a long history of proudly supporting Veterans. When the First World War came to an end, numerous Veterans groups and regimental associations representing former service members were created. Despite their shared goals, efforts were fragmented and unsuccessful. An appeal for unity led to the formation of the Dominion Veterans Alliance and, in Winnipeg in 1925, the Legion was founded as “The Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League ” It was incorporated by a special Act of Parliament and the Charter was issued in July 1926. On December 19, 1960, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II gave her consent to use the prefix 'Royal', and the organization became known as 'The Royal Canadian Legion." The Act of Incorporation was later amended in 1961 to make the change official. The Legion’s initial main objective was to provide a strong voice for First World War Veterans. However, the advent of the Second World War created a host of new demands The Legion expanded to offer more dedicated support to Veterans, as well as those serving abroad. Today, the Legion continues to improve the lives of Veterans, including serving Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP, and their families ‘This has been our principal objective since our inception, and we will continue to work for it today and every day forward.’

The Paris Legion Branch 29 was formed in 1926 and by 1930 was boasting 100 members. The original house portion of the Paris Legion’s building located at 70 William St was constructed in 1860 and bequeathed to the Legion in 1937 by Franklin Smoke Franklin Smoke (24 August 1860 – 27 February 1937) was a Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was born in South Dumfries Township, Canada West and became a barrister. Smoke attended public and secondary schools at Paris, Ontario then proceeded to studies at Osgoode Hall Law School. In 1908, he was appointed King's Counsel.

In the 1919 Ontario election, Smoke was an unsuccessful candidate for provincial office. His campaign for federal office in the 1925 general election was successful, winning a Parliament seat at Brant riding. He was reelected in 1926 and in 1930 then defeated by George Wood of the Liberal party in the 1935 election.

Dedication of the War Memorial, 1930

The Paris War Memorial was dedicated on November 11, 1930 For this important ceremony, the area around the Cenotaph was crowded with veterans, town officials, wives and mothers of ''fallen" soldiers, the bands of the 18th Dragoons and the Dufferin Rifles, a choir of 300

Paris Museum & Historical Society elementary school pupils, the high school pupils, and citizens After the address of welcome by Mayor Isaac Stewart, Lt.-Col. the Venerable Archdeacon F.G. Scott delivered the dedicatory speech. The dedicatory prayer was delivered by Major the Reverend W. F. McConnell.

According to the Paris Star, 'he beseeched the Lord to take away the armies and hatred which cause men and nations to make war.' Rev. Father McGoey pronounced the benediction.

Sports

Paris FC U16 boys’ team headed to cup finals

The Paris FC U16 boys defeated Hamilton Croatia in their league cup game to move on to the Ontario Cup Finals (today) Saturday, August 19 at Green Lane Sports Complex at 4 pm. Come on out and cheer on the local team as they battle for the trophy!

Pictured left is the team following their gold medal win at the Gaels Cup in Kingston last month.

Submitted photos

U18 Girls undefeated in round robin play at Cameron Tournament

The Paris FC U18 girls were undefeated and finished in first place in their group at the Cameron Tournament in Trenton last weekend. Unfortunately, the team ended up losing in the semi-finals. Despite the loss, and a lot of rain, it was a great tournament and everyone worked together to put up a good fight.

U14 boys team semifinalists at AC Douglas Tournament

The Paris FC U14 boys were semi-finalists in the AC Douglas tournament in Niagara Falls last weekend, losing 2-0 to a very strong NSSC Attack. They weren’t the only Paris FC team tearing up the fields. The U9 Boys’ Black, U10 Boys’ and U11 Boys’ teams were also competing at the tournament, representing Paris.