You have probably seen them — red, black and white signs up around town and in store windows that simply say “Thank You!”
Decorated with poppies, they are a thank you to Canada’s veterans and veterans everywhere — the brainchild of Francine Grenon, who works at RBC in Bradford West Gwillimbury.
Grenon has a passion for honouring veterans. Without them, where would Canada, with its freedoms, strong democratic tradition and multicultural tapestry of communities, be?
Grenon started making the posters about six years ago.
“It just started with a couple and expanded every year,” she said.
It takes Grenon 30 to 45 minutes to make each sign, and “every one of them puts a smile on my face,” she said.
In a typical year, she goes door-to-door to businesses along the route of the annual Bradford Remembrance Parade, asking them to display the posters in their windows or on their doors.
After so many years, some businesses contact her to make sure they receive a poster before Remembrance Day.
This year was a little different. Grenon was sidelined by a shoulder injury and had to rely on her husband to help deliver the signs to participating businesses.
“My plan this year was to do 365 posters, but I got set back. I managed 163,” she said. “Next year, watch out!”
She has encouraged RBC to sponsor a veteran banner in the Bradford legion’s Veteran Banner program. The RBC-sponsored banner honours Bertha Yake (nee Jeffries) who served in the Canadian Women’s Army Corps in the First World War.
Grenon also set up this year’s display at the RBC branch on Holland St. W., focusing on the service of the Pinkerton family — the family of fellow-RBC client advisor, Trisha Pinho.
Pinho’s father, John W. Pinkerton, signed up for the peace time air force in 1959 at the age of 20.
“He didn’t fight in the war. He was too young!” said Pinho.
The family has a tradition of military service. Pinkerton’s uncles, Roger and William Pinkerton, served in the First World War. Roger was killed in action on Aug. 31, 1918, and William was wounded but returned home from the front.
A third uncle — ‘Uncle Joe’ — signed up in 1939, and served in the Second World War until 1943, when he was wounded in the face by a piece of shrapnel and sent home. As soon as his wound healed, said John Pinkerton, “he went back, against advice, to finish it.”
And, he said, “there’s two more cousins in the army.”
PInkerton remembers family get-togethers when former servicemen would sit around a table, sharing “a couple of beers, and then the old war stories…”
Pinho’s maternal grandfather also saw service. James Kay Fernie was an air force navigator in the Second World War, who carried out 31 bombing missions.
“He was shot down on his last mission, but lived to tell the tale,” said a note on a family photo of Fernie.
It’s the camaraderie that Pinkerton remembers most from his five years of service.
“Even in peacetime, you get the same feeling. It’s just like home. Wherever you went, you had a bed” — and friends.
All the same, he described his own military service as “a holiday.” He waved a hand at the photos of his uncles and father-in-law. “These guys served,” he said.
The display at the RBC branch includes Pinkerton’s uniforms.
“He can still fit in them,” said Pinho.
There are also photographs, which included a group shot of No. 3 Company at CAMC Borden, taken in 1943.
The idea, said Grenon, is to honour all veterans of war, peacekeeping and military service — everyone who has been willing to put his or her life on the line for Canada.
And on Remembrance Day, Nov. 11, Pinho will be at the Bradford legion’s Cenotaph, at 115 Back St., for the Remembrance Day service, holding a sign that reads “Thank You.”
