According to Ottawa records, the Ladies’ Auxiliary, located in Canmore, Alberta, was the very first Ladies’ Auxiliary in Canada to apply for a charter under the Canadian Legion to the British Empire Service League. This was the auxiliary’s second charter which was granted November 2, 1926. The first charter was granted under the Great War Veterans’ Association in February, 1921. During its first four years, the auxiliary was very active. In 1923, the members of the auxiliary raised the money through canvasing, for the “Soldier” monument which, for many years stood in front of the Memorial Hall. It is now in the Field of Honour in the local cemetery. In 1922, the auxiliary purchased a $12.50 share in a new curtain for the Canmore Opera House which is now located at Heritage Park, Calgary, Alberta.
The first meeting, and all other meetings until 1966, were held in the “Vets’ Room” in the Memorial Hall (YMCA) which was opened in 1921 and was built by the Canmore Coal Company (Canmore Mines) as a tribute to the veterans of World War I. Since 1966, the meetings have been held in the Royal Canadian Legion. All the necessary catering was done from the Memorial Hall which was located on the west side of the Rundle Mountain Trading Company(Company Store).
In 1947, the auxiliary donated a plaque to be placed on the monument containing the names of those who were killed, from the district, during the Second World War. This matched the plaque that the auxiliary had donated in 1923, with the names of those lost in World War I. These plaques are now set into the outside wall of the Royal Canadian Legion. One of the Ladies’ Auxiliary earliest projects was the sponsorship of “Kiddies’ Day” in 1926, 1927 and 1928.
The first president was Mrs. Stewart Lynch.
In Canmore Seniors at the Summit, ed. Canmore Seniors Association, 2000, p. 251-252.
