P.E.I. museum launches WWI exhibit
Shane Ross | CBC News | Posted: June 18, 2016 7:59 PM | Last Updated: June 20, 2016
'We need to look after our own history and tell our story'
P.E.I.'s Regiment Museum launched a new exhibit in Charlottetown on Saturday.
The exhibit, called Rally Round the Flag — PEI and the Great War, features photos, artifacts and stories from all the units that served overseas, including nurses, navy and the air force.
It took a team of six people nearly eight months to put the exhibit together. But it was worth it, said museum curator Greg Gallant.
"P.E.I.'s military history, can't expect somebody to do it for us, we need to do it ourselves," he said. "So we need to look after our own history and tell our story."
More than 7,100 Islanders served in the First World War more than 100 years ago, including Alfred Gardiner. He was killed three months before the war ended, leaving 10 children behind.
His great grandson, Don Cantelo, thinks the exhibit is "fantastic."
"I think everybody should at least take a moment in their time, especially Islanders, and come and have a look," he said.
The exhibit will move to Summerside in the fall.
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- An earlier version of this story stated that more than 3,500 Islanders served in the First World War. In fact, more than 7,100 Islanders served. June 20, 2016 5:46 PM