Award of recognition conferred
Remember Together: John McCrae 150 Project Praised by Canadian Champion of British Military History
On March 14, 2023 we proudly welcomed Dr. Kevin McCormick to the UK. He is the President and Vice-Chancellor of Huntington University based in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. He also serves as Honorary Colonel in the Irish Regiment of Canada. As a further point of distinction, Dr. McCormick is the founder of several personal projects and initiatives which actively promote British history, including British Military History. This is work that has been ongoing over the past two decades. Dr. McCormick has travelled more than 150,000 kilometres finding, acquiring and then returning artifacts and items pertaining to British and Canadian history and heritage to museums, families, or governments across Canada and within Britain. He also endeavours to raise awareness and educate people regarding the honoured role of the Sovereign, along with the Royal family, in Canada’s history; especially the role the Monarch holds within the Canadian Armed Forces. Most recently he has developed a national program to plant 2,023 maple trees across Canada to commemorate the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and promote the importance of the Sovereign in Canada’s national identity.
Dr. McCormick has presented the Canada UK Foundation, along with the Canada Memorial Foundation, the Maple Leaf Trust and CEO Wanda Hamilton, with Distinguished Fellowships through his UK-Canada Military History initiative. The awards are in recognition of exemplary contributions towards British and Canadian relations and military history. One fine example of our work in this domain is the Remember Together: John McCrae 150 project which marked the 150th anniversary of the birth of John McCrae, the Canadian army surgeon who wrote the iconic poem In Flanders Fields. In November 2022, the Canada UK Foundation along with other partners and funders including Big Ideas CIC, the Canada Memorial Foundation, the Canada UK Chamber of Commerce and the Maple Leaf Trust, hosted three digital workshops on the topic for schools in both the UK and Canada. 13,114 young people in 126 schools across Canada and the UK participated in this online event. The story behind the poppy is one of shared commemoration culture and military history. We take great pride in being recognized for our efforts through this project by Dr. Kevin McCormick – a remarkable Canadian truly dedicated to furthering educational studies into British history and culture and promoting the inextricable linkages between our two countries.
Picture shows Mrs. Jenny McCann, Operations Manager, Maple Leaf Trust, and Mr. Steve Lowe, Chair, Canada Memorial Foundation, receiving plaque of recognition from Dr. Kevin McCormick