Oak Bay Remembers is an initiative of Oak Bay Archives, started in November 2014 to mark the centenary of the First World War. As of 2024, it continues for the Second World War.
The goals of the project were:
- To discover the names and personal stories of Oak Bay residents killed in the First World War
- To understand the impact of the war on the community of Oak Bay
- To raise awareness of the centenary and its relevance to our community
- To restore to public memory the personal sacrifices that were made one hundred years ago
How the Project Came Together
Using directories, census data, newspapers, photographs, websites and other sources, volunteers from Oak Bay Archives worked to identify more than three hundred Oak Bay men and women who served with the Canadian and British forces during the First World War.
To date, our research has identified fifty Oak Bay men who gave their lives in the conflict. Oak Bay was a small community of a few thousand residents during the First World War, and the impact of the war on local families was profound.
As part of the project, research files containing print copies of attestation papers, service records, news clippings, photographs and other material have been created as a permanent resource at Oak Bay Archives. Biographical sketches for each of Oak Bay’s WWI war dead have been added to a dedicated page on Oak Bay Connect.
In addition to conducting research, Oak Bay Archives hosted community lectures on WWI history during the years of commemoration 2014-2018, and participated in public events including the centenary commemoration of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, held at the Bay Street Armoury in April 2017.
Share Information and Questions
If you have information to share with us about Oak Bay in the First World War, or questions or corrections pertaining to any of the Honour Roll entries, please contact the Archivist.
A special thank you to our volunteer researchers Alan McKinlay and Leona Taylor.