Kevin Hills, a commercial pilot, has spent five years pushing local and federal government agencies to restore 23 flattened headstones belonging to fallen Canadian soldiers and airmen in Nanaimo’s Bowen Road Cemetery.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) promised “perpetual and equal care for the final resting places of those killed in both World Wars,” but these markers no longer meet these international standards. The CWGC was set up after World War One to “memorialize forever” service personnel who died in service, combat, of wounds, in “training accidents, and on the job from natural causes.
Hills, who also volunteers as an officer in the local Air Cadet squadron, launched the Nanaimo Fallen Project (NFP) in 2021 after discovering the headstones hadn’t been maintained. He said, this “was the promise made to the soldiers, to their families, to their comrades, and to their communities” and he intends to ensure the community lives up to it.
The 23 headstones were originally installed in the 1920s and 1940s. Hills said he “went to City Hall, and approached City Council in camera, and was able to get them to change the bylaw to allow these 23 headstones to be re-erected.”
Hills has since worked with City of Nanaimo officials and organizations like the Wounded Warrior Canada (WWC) and Branch 10 Legion to restore the stones to their upright positions. The CWGC has balked at upgrading these markers, which has been a challenge, but Hills and his supporters remain committed.
In 2022, Hills connected with Jacqueline Zweng, a regional director of the WWC, at their annual Vancouver Island run, which raises funds and awareness for veterans’ mental health programs. Zweng, who has directed the event since 2018, said she was shocked by the condition of the gravestones. “I’ve gone to a lot of different Commonwealth war graves, and I couldn’t actually believe the state of the ones here in comparison to how they’re maintained overseas,” she said.
Zweng noted that both the WWC and NFP share a common goal of supporting veterans, following the WWC’s motto to “honour the fallen and help the living.”
Colin Matthews, a British military veteran and 1st Vice-President of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 10 in Nanaimo, has also supported the initiative. He said he is committed to honouring the fallen “because what they did over their lifespans enables us to do what we do today.”
Matthews said “not one of the headstones meets the acceptable criteria” set by the CWGC, and he believes the organization should be held accountable. So far, the CWGC has not agreed.
Families of the fallen are in vocal support of the NFP to properly recognize the individuals behind the names. For Hills and his supporters, the mission remains clear: to ensure that the headstones stand tall and proud once again, just as the servicemen they represent once stood for Canada.
