Our unsung heroes - World War I stories from Newfoundland and Labrador

This collection is a project of St. John's Storytelling Inc. and its partners (Memorial University of Newfoundland, Rogers Communications, Royal Canadian Legion) and was made possible through support from the NL Year of the Arts, through ArtsNL, & The Perlin Family Trust.

Some of the stories collected from the project were used to complete a 10-part podcast, produced by Rebecca Nolan and hosted by Lisa Gushue. The link can be found here: https://ourunsungheros.podbean.com/.

A live event was held to launch the podcast series on November 7, 2024, at the CLB Armoury in St. John’s, NL. A link to the livestream of that event can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txXnFRYSBmo.

Some of the stories were also used to create a 2-part television series, which was aired on Rogers Television locally in Newfoundland and Labrador. The series was produced by Dan Warren, recorded by videographer Riley Harnett and hosted by Brian O’Connell. We also would like to acknowledge Ken Parsons for providing the ASL interpretation and the Crow’s Nest Officer’s Club for providing the recording location for the hosting video. The link can be found here: https://rogerstv.com/st-johns/show/our-unsung-heroes.

Stories collected but not used in the podcast or the television series can be found here and have been shared with permission of the people who kindly shared their stories.

Finally, these productions and collections would not have been possible without the vision of the late Dr. Robert (Rob) Shea, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Memorial University and Associate Vice-President (Academic and Student Affairs) of the Marine Institute, who understood the importance of recording stories previously unknown, from a province rich in World War 1 history and culture. As well, we are thankful for the following people who had important roles in making sure his vision came to life:

Steering Committee: Karen Carroll (President SJS), Randy Crane (SJS Board Member), Gary Green (Historian. Committee member and author), Jan Buley (Memorial University of Newfoundland) and Dan Warren (former staff member Rogers Television). The project could not have been accomplished without the outstanding services of the Project Coordinator Susan Oke-Cumby, Gary Browne, retired member of the NL command of the Royal Canadian Legion who provided support and advice to the Steering Committee.

Story Collectors: Jan & David Buley, Karen Carroll, Randy Crane, Dennis Flynn, Gary Green, Jordan Harnum, Bob Hemeon, Tonya Kearley-Russell, Oral Mews, Dave Paddon, Alex Saunders, and Jeanene Walsh.

MUNFLA Archivist Pauline Cox and Kaitlyn Little were also instrumental in getting this archive online.