BDA volunteer Jo Shannon holds up a historical photo of Hilda Montgomery. Sarah Hyatt/MBC
On the heels of Remembrance Day, you can step back in time 107 years ago this Thursday and see life through the eyes of a 16-year-old Brighton girl during the First World War.
A video presentation brought to life from the pages of 16-year-old Hilda Montgomery’s diary from 1917 will be unveiled by Brighton Digital Archives (BDA) this Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, at the Brighton Public Library.
Jo Shannon is among the BDA volunteers who’ve logged some 500 hours for the project, which has been in the making for a year-and-a-half.
Shannon tells us more about the gem she and her sister Hyacinthe Eykelhof unearthed after opening a box of archival materials donated by Ralph and Eugenia Bangay.
Quickly, the project gained traction, including with other volunteers like Jill Macklam and Ralph de Jonge.
After all, this was an intimate and first-hand glimpse into a time when war was raging, boys from Brighton were on the frontlines, a global epidemic was only a year away, and the Russian revolution was in full swing, explain volunteers.
And yet, despite the chaos worldwide, those left behind were tasked with carrying on.
Shannon tells us this project goes beyond world history, shining a light on what life was like in Brighton more than a century ago for an “ordinary girl.”
Of course, “without giving too much away,” this teenage girl would grow up to be considered “one of the community’s most revered leaders.”
In the words of BDA volunteers: “We learned even heroes were teenagers at one time.”
Montgomery’s story in her fifteenth-to-sixteenth year also gives voice to the sacrifices made locally as the First World War raged on, explains Shannon.
And that is difficult to grasp, or truly relate to, with the majority of us now born during peace team, notes Shannon.
“But when you see the video, you’ll realize how big a deal it really was and how important (this) was in Canada’s history. Sometimes, it just sends a shiver up your spine … you know, I have two sons and had I been living 107 years ago, chances are, both would have gone to war – and not to mention our neighbours, our brothers, our fathers, would have all gone to war for this country, and how many came back …”
Shannon tells us a little more about what you can expect at the event.
The video showing, which starts at 6:30 p.m., is about 25 minutes long – it shines a light on an immense amount of research for the project. The narration by Art Heeney is augmented by readings (and the most important excerpts) from Montgomery’s diary, in addition to historical photos, and more. The event is free to attend.
The research has also enabled Brighton to repatriate some of its history, hinted Eykelhof.
And 100 years from now, with BDA projects such as this, people will still know what it was like to live in Brighton in 1917.
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)
