The Canadian War Museum has announced the winners of an annual educational award which in 2014 was devoted to the theme of Canada and the First World War.
Five high school students from across the country were commended for their ‘outstanding works of art and scholarship’ by the judges of the Colonel Douglas H. Gunter History Awards.
The competition is named after a former soldier and member of the Friends of the Canadian War Museum who left a bequest for educational purposes when he died in 2005.
For the Centenary year of 2014, students were invited to submit original work exploring why Canada and Canadians participated in the First World War.
Congratulating the winners, the Museum’s Director General, James Whitham, said: “Through their songs, poems, etchings and essays, these students have demonstrated an impressive understanding of this historical conflict.
“I hope this award will help them to continue their studies, adding to our knowledge of Canadian military history.”
Judged by a multi-disciplinary committee, the annual Colonel Douglas H. Gunter History Awards are open to all graduating high school students. There’s a $1,000 cash prize for each of the five winners.
This year’s laureates are:
Jaclyn Salter of Grand Forks Secondary School in Grand Forks, Saskatchewan for her poem What It Was For: A poem on Canadian enlistment in World War One.
Kate Smith of Springhill Junior Senior High School in Spring Hill, Nova Scotia for her poem The Call.
Gregory Youmans of Goderich District Collegiate in Goderich, Ontario for his essay The Entrance of Canada to World War One: Factors Affecting the Reactions of Canadians to the Declaration of War.
Ben Kmiech of John Paul II Collegiate in North Battleford, Saskatchewan for his bilingual audio visual presentation on the subject of Canada’s involvement in the First World War.
Kathleen Rossiter of Belleisle Regional High in Springfield, New Brunswick for her audio visual presentation The Life of John J. Ross.
The winning entries can be found here.
The Colonel Douglas H. Gunter History Awards are financially supported by the Friends of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
Colonel Gunter served with the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery for 32 years, serving in the Second World War and the Korean War. His career also included peacekeeping duties in Cyprus.
Source: Canadian War Museum
Images: Peter Alhadeff, Centenary News
Posted by: Peter Alhadeff, Centenary News