‘Woman on the Waterfront’ to recognize women war volunteers
Posted Oct 29, 2015 11:03:04 AM.
Last Updated Oct 29, 2015 05:06:32 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX – It’s about time we had a woman on the waterfront.
The Halifax Women’s History Society thinks so, as they launched a national fundraising campaign to get a monument honouring the contribution of women volunteers in the city during World War II.
The proposed statue, which would be located near the Halifax Seaport Market, both would serve as a dedication to women, as well as a dedication to the thousands of women who provided services to troops coming and going to war in Halifax.
The organization’s chair Janet Guildford said of the more than 100 statues and plaques around the city, less than a dozen feature women, and of those she noted some are mythical females.
Guildford also said these, ‘wartime women’ have also not been properly recognized for their work.
“It’s been seventy years since the war ended and they’ve still received no recognition,” Guildford said.
“They’re not going to be able to tell us their stories forever and now is the time to recognize them for their efforts.”
Marjorie Lindsay, 91, was once of those on hand to share some of those memories at Halifax City Hall Thursday morning.
The Second World War volunteer remembered Halifax as a, “sleepy little town,” before it was suddenly overrun with airman, sailors, soldiers and others as war broke out. She worked as a canteen volunteer, offering coffee, food and conversation to serviceman on the waterfront.
Lindsay did get quite the laugh from the crowd on hand, when she noted one of the positives as a young woman in High School was the glut of handsome men now walking around town.
On a serious note, she called it an, “exciting time in Halifax and in history,” and spoke of the importance of honouring how women contributed to the war effort.
She noted the whole province’s generosity in welcoming many, many strangers.
“They took people into their homes. They met troops. They were just wonderful,” Lindsay said.
The society is hoping to be able to unveil their Woman on the Waterfront statue by 2017.
