Andrew Wilkie cleans grave markers in his free time on weekends at the Aberdeen Cemetery, located just off Fraser Highway on the Aldergrove-Abbotsford border.
On a visit there, he noticed many graves were covered in dirt 鈥� some were blackened, even 鈥� so he got permission from the City of Abbotsford to clean them.
In doing so, Wilkie realized that many grave markers were abandoned. He grew curious of their stories.
He joined the Alder Grove Heritage Society as a volunteer in May to help record veterans buried at the cemetery, formerly called the Aldergrove Cemetery.
鈥淚鈥檓 very much interested in military history, because my family fought in World War I and II. I had a great grand uncle who died in the Battle of Somme in 1916, and I have their medals,鈥� Wilkie shared.
The Battle of Somme of the First World War was fought by the British and French against the Germans between July 1 and Nov. 18, 1916.
Wilkie presented his research so far at the society鈥檚 open house to mark Community Heritage Day on Saturday, Aug. 19.
He printed the layout of the cemetery on two large pages with the names and dates of the graves he knows labelled. Names that were marked orange are Aldergrove residents who were buried at Aberdeen, and those greyed out died in war or went missing.
鈥淲e have 223 names at the moment of people who lived in Aldergrove at some point,鈥� Wilkie said.
The printout is a copy of the original map, which the society has, made in 1974 and was last updated in 1991. Wilkie said the City of Abbotsford only has an online database, so he also wants to recreate an updated map digitally.
鈥淚 enjoy the history,鈥� he said.
There are three parts to his project, Wilkie explained. It starts with updating the society鈥檚 own honour roll, which currently only has 32 names of Aldergrove veterans.
鈥淭he second part is to identify all the veterans in this cemetery, because a lot of these people are pioneer families,鈥� he said.
Finally, the society wants to get involved with the No Stone Left Alone program, a charity which aims to educate youth about Canada鈥檚 military history.
鈥淲e will get to connect with the local schools, and bring the kids out to the cemetery, and have a ceremony with them. Their classes will create poppies and wreaths, and they can lay them out on the veteran graves,鈥� Wilkie explained.
He said this will be before Remembrance Day on Nov. 11.
鈥淲e鈥檒l read In Flanders Fields and have a moment of silence,鈥� he added.
One veteran Wilkie noted who was buried in Aberdeen is William Franklin, who survived the Nagasaki atomic bombing and wrote a book about his experience as a prisoner of war 鈥� which the society has in its museum.
鈥淚鈥檝e always wanted to clean the markers and do the research, because as you鈥檙e cleaning it you wonder, 鈥榳ho was this person?鈥欌�� Wilkie said. 鈥淟ike Annie Pollard [who] was 31 when she died.鈥�
Through his volunteer grave cleaning, Wilkie has met some of the descendants and family members of those buried in Aberdeen.
It isn鈥檛 only the markers he cleans, but also trimming the grass around the edges and pulling out the weeds.
鈥淚 do as much as I can. When you go look at somebody鈥檚 grave marker, and there鈥檚 grass over it, and you can鈥檛 even read it, I don鈥檛 know, to me it鈥檚 just disrespectful,鈥� Wilkie shared.
For those interested in cleaning their family or friend鈥檚 grave markers, or anybody鈥檚 at a cemetery, Wilkie recommends using soft brushes, a lot of water, and 30-Second Cleaner to remove the lichen.
鈥淪ometimes it takes a few weeks, respraying, and scrubbing, and it comes out white,鈥� he said. 鈥淭o me I鈥檓 showing respect to these people.鈥�
His efforts are part of the ongoing work of the volunteer heritage society.
President Tami Quiring said that includes work on decolonizing their records. Midway through the event, a member from the Waceya M茅tis Society gave a speech at noon about the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls along the Highway of Tears in B.C.
In addition to Wilkie鈥檚 project, Quiring said there was a display of the pioneer family roots in Aldergrove, the first Black couple to live in Aldergrove, and historic articles of the Aldergrove Star.
The museum is located at 3190 271st St. and is open Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. Entry is by donation.
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