Alberta man’s two uncles with same name died in different world wars

An Alberta man has even more to be proud of and to remember on Nov. 11, learning he has more connections to the sacrifice so many Canadians made.

Al Cameron, founding executive director of Veterans Voices of Canada has a lot of family ties to war, including veterans who are currently serving or have served in places such as Afghanistan, or during world wars.

“How can we not appreciate what these guys gave for us?”

However, he has learned some interesting news from his cousin. Cameron not only has a great uncle named Ernest Glenmore Hill, who fought and died in the Second World War but another relative with the same name who fought in World War I.

“My great, great uncle Ernest Glenmore Hill, he fought with the [5th Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles]–that’s a Quebec regiment. He was killed in action on Oct. 2, 1916,” he said.

Two men, both named Ernest Glenmore Hill battled in the world wars. (Photo courtesy Al Cameron, founding executive director of Veterans Voices of Canada)

Cameron says his name is on the Vimy memorial, where he hopes to pay his respects in person in the next few years.

And while it’ll take some time to sink in that he has another relative who perished while at war, he has already discovered a lot about his great uncle who was killed on July 25, 1944.

“He served with the North Nova Scotia Highlanders, landed on the beaches of Normandy,” said Cameron.

“He made it all the way through until July 25 at a place called Tilly la Campagne which is just south of Caen.”

Through his work with Veterans Voices of Canada, Cameron has connected with many people who had family members who served, and or were killed in action in both wars.

“That happens often, but with the exact same names, I found that really, really, really crazy, so I’ve got a lot more research to do on great, great uncle Ernest,” he said.

Back in 2014, Cameron began planning Flags of Remembrance tributes, and this year there are flags set up in Lacombe, Sylvan Lake, Sydney Nova Scotia, Philipsburg Quebec, Windsor, and Dunnville, Ontario.

“We have 128 full-sized Canadian flags, flying in our communities and they represent 128,000 Canadian killed and missing in action from the world war to current missions,” he said.

“(Underneath) each one of these flags on the flagpole, is a plaque of honour with the name of a past or present military or first responder hero.”

On Nov. 11, Cameron encourages everybody to honour all veterans by wearing their poppies proudly, attending a Remembrance Day ceremony, or walking the flag-line and reading the names.

“Just remember what these guys and gals did for us, what they’re doing for us today, and just honour them,” he said.