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Blakelock play part of larger war history project Continued from page 9 11 · Friday, January 25, 2013 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com The play recounted how both men met their sweethearts and made promises to return to them. Stewart was engaged at the time of his deployment. It showed how the men met on the ship and became friends. It depicted Bill Connolly in the POW camp after the ship was attacked and sunk while his wife remained ever-hopeful back home that he would return, despite knowing that the Athabaskan had been destroyed. Vi, a singer, said she recollected the song My Prayer, which she had specifically learned for Bill before his deployment, after he asked if she knew it. The pair worked together and when she had learned it, she sang it for him at work. "I sang it right through like it was on the radio and he never lifted his head from his desk," she recounted. Michelle Fernandes, who played Vi in the play, met Vi afterwards. "I think she loved the play." Fernandes said she enjoyed playing the role of Vi, and that the project was an educational experience. "I learned about life during war," she said. "We learned about what it was like to be in... war camps. Our statistics scene talks about the 29 million deaths and how that happened." The play is part of a larger Canadian Navy project by retired history teacher Thomas Dykes, who has been working with Blakelock students and teachers over the past five years on a number of presentations. The project includes his book, An ABC of the Battle of the Atlantic, and relates to the role that the Royal Canadian Navy played during the Second World War and that particular battle. "I was trying show the role the Canadian Navy played in this, which was the longest battle, and to my mind, the most critical battle of the war," Dykes said. Dykes has been working with the Naval Officers Association of Canada, war veterans and their families, and naval officers along with other groups on the project. The entire project will be presented at two International Military History Conferences in England this May. This will include a videotape of The Two Bills presentation at Blakelock. Dykes got the invite because the conferences are working towards a solution of how to teach war history in high schools. Dykes has already been doing that. His Canadian Navy projects at Blakelock included all sorts of classes, from history to math, or in the most recent case, drama. "We can develop a whole range of interpretations that will hopefully inspire young people and not just to take history, but to appreciate the role that the Canadian Navy played," he said. Andrew Irwin, representing the Naval Officers Association of Canada, and Captain Gary Hatton, of the Royal Canadian Navy, were present at Blakelock to see the student play. Both said they were impressed with the student production. Hatton said a play such as this is a great way to instill in young people a knowledge of the lives that were lost during the war. "Those numbers can't be comprehended just by looking at a piece of paper," Hatton said. "What they do understand is when they put a story to it and they make it personal and they got down to the numbers of the ones and twos, not the hundreds and millions of people who died. The mind can't comprehend that." Drama teacher Sarah Robert was quick to involve her students in the project after she was contacted by Dykes. "This gives the students an opportunity to promote Canadian culture and Canadian heritage. A lot of times, with this generation and as Second World War veterans start to pass, that story gets lost," she said. "By showing this, by getting the kids involved, getting them to know the story, then they can help carry on our story, our Canadian heritage." 1/2 Off Cakes & Novelties CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DAY When you replace your Furnace and/or Air Conditioner! 10 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY * JUNE 2014! DO NOT PAY UNTIL * ! w o A ct N Bronte Rd Bronte Rd Saturday, January 26th 46 years Backed by Coleman's 2013 100% Satisfaction Guarantee* *Limited time offer; O.A.C. See store for details 9am - 5pm DAIRY QUEEN Dorval Dairy QueenTM 215 North Service Road (1 block North of QEW) Oakville Third Line Third Line We Service All Makes of Gas Furnaces · 24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE · QUALIFIED MECHANICS · QUALITY WORKMANSHIP · 24 HR. HOTLINE Showroom Hours: QEW Mon-Fri 8 am - 5 pm Oakville Speers Rd Sat 11 am - 4 pm 905-825-1893 hours Showroom Phone: Burlington 905-825-1929 Lakeshore Lakeshore Rd Rd 905-335-3203 905 2086 Speers Rd. Oakville APPLEBY SYSTEMS www.applebysystems.ca