UKRAINIAN CANADIAN CIVIL LIBERTIES FOUNDATION
LA FONDATION UKRAINIENNE-CANADIENNE DES DROITS CIVILS
УКРАЇНСЬКО-КАНАДСЬКA ФУНДАЦІЇ ГРОМАДЯНСЬКИХ СВОБОД
HEROES
OF THEIR DAY
UCCLF hallows the sacrifices and service of the thousands of Ukrainian Canadian men and women who enlisted in the armed forces of our country.
HONOURING UKRAINIAN CANADIAN VETERANS
UCCLF hallows the sacrifices and service of the thousands of Ukrainian Canadian men and women who enlisted in the armed forces of our country. In particular, we recognize those who volunteered for overseas service during the Second World War and who, in England, organized the Ukrainian Canadian Servicemen's’ Association (UCSA) and a “London Club” (at 218 Sussex Gardens, London). Some of their number- the sons, daughters and grandchildren of Canada’s Ukrainian pioneer-settlers - remained in Europe to help save Ukrainian political refugees and Displaced Persons (DPs), organizing the Central Ukrainian Relief Bureau (CURB) with the financial support of the Ukrainian Canadian Relief Fund (UCRF) and United Ukrainian American Relief Committee (UUARC).
Tens of thousands of DPs and victims of the war eventually rebuilt their lives in Canada, the USA, Australia and across Europe - the parents or grandparents of many of us - becoming a diaspora that never gave up on the cause of Ukraine’s freedom and persisted in reminding the world of the crimes against humanity and genocide perpetrated by the Soviet and Nazi occupation regimes in Ukraine. Those who saved these DPs were, as Flight Lieutenant G. R. B. Panchuk once described them, “ the heroes of their day.” Fittingly, we shall honour them with a commemorative stained glass window where these brave men and women once had their HQ. A unique project that honours those who served and those they saved.
Please consider supporting this project with a donation.
The artist's image of the commemorative stained glass window that was installed at St. James's Parish, Paddington, London, England, in July 2020.
The UCCLF will be reaching out to surviving veterans, their families and descendants by mailing some 3,500 postcards (pictured) across Canada and internationally, calling attention to the importance of this date and the contributions of Ukrainian Canadians in uniform.
Given the lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic in England and around the world, the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation (UCCLF) and its partners have postponed the unveiling of a memorial stained-glass window in London, originally scheduled for May 8, 2020 – the 75th anniversary of V-E (Victory in Europe) Day.
Over the past several years, the UCCLF team has worked hard to ensure that the service and sacrifices of the thousands of Ukrainian Canadians who served overseas during the Second World War, and Ukrainians who did likewise in the armed forces of the other Allied powers, would be recalled on this historic date.
Commenting, UCCLF’s chairman, Borys Sydoruk, said:
"Obviously, we are disappointed at not being able to witness the unveiling of this commemorative stained-glass window on May 8. Other possible dates are now being considered, public health and safety considerations permitting. In the meantime, we will be reaching out to surviving veterans and their families by mailing some 3,500 postcards across Canada and internationally, calling attention to the importance of this date and the contributions of Ukrainian Canadians in uniform. We have also organized publication of a half-page notice in the May 8 edition of The Globe and Mail, recalling how these men and women volunteered for service overseas, demonstrating their loyalty to Canada by defending our way of life. Some veterans then remained in Europe for several more years, helping to save Ukrainian Displaced Persons (DPs) from forcible repatriation to the Soviet Union. Those victims of Nazi and Communist tyranny were eventually resettled across the free world, helping to strengthen the Ukrainian diaspora we are part of today, whether we live in England, the USA, Australia, western Europe or here in Canada. And many of us are the children and grandchildren of the very same political refugees these Canadian Ukrainians rescued. Simply put, we would not be here today if it were not for the men and women in uniform who saved the DPs. So, on May 8, the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe, V-E Day, we call upon our friends and supporters across Canada, and indeed around the world, to remember the Ukrainian Canadians who were the 'heroes of their day'."
The Globe and Mail Commemorative Notice, May 8, 2020
St James's Church, Sussex Gardens, London, May 8, 2020 Invitation
Heroes of Their Day Pokrova Icon
Покрова – The Protection of Our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos
The Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation (UCCLF) has been honouring the Ukrainian Canadian men and women who served Canada during the Second World War. This project is titled Heroes of Their Day. The honorary patron of the Heroes of Their Day project is Lieutenant-General (Ret’d) Paul Wynnyk. The first phase of this project was to install a stained-glass window at St. James’s Parish, in London, England. It was in that Church’s vicarage that the Ukrainian Canadian Servicemen’s Association was set up during the Second World War. The stained-glass window was installed in 2020.
The second phase of Heroes of Their Day project is to commemorate the Ukrainian Canadian veterans in a most unique and evocative way: by way of an icon of the Mother of God watching over servicemen and servicewomen. It is especially appropriate, since the Покрова image – The Protection of Our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos – has historically been venerated by those praying for the safety of those serving in the defence of our country. This commissioned icon will be installed in the in the Cathedrals of both the Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox Churches across Canada. The two Metropolitan Cathedrals in Winnipeg were the first in Canada to receive the icon. The two icons were formally unveiled in the Metropolitan Cathedrals in November 2022. The project has been funded in part by the Veterans Affairs Canada Commemorative Partnership Program.
Acclaimed iconographer, Oleksandr Klymenko of Kyiv, was selected to create these icons. As with all of his icon work, Mr. Klymenko wrote these icons on ammunition boxes sourced from Ukraine in its defence against Russia.
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
Remembering the Ukrainian Canadian women who volunteered to serve in the RCAF in the Second World War
У St James's Church, Sussex Gardens у Лондоні з’явився новий вітраж, присвячений канадським українцям, які воювали у війську Британської імперії під час Другої світової війни.
У свій час саме в цій церкві одружувався всесвітньо відомий письменник Оскар Уайльд. Парафіянами цієї церкви були: творець улюбленої багатьма історії про Пітера Пена Джеймс Баррі, винахідник пеніциліну Олександр Флемінг та засновник всього скаутського руху Роберт Бейден-Павелл.
То до чого ж тут українці? Про це ВимкниРосійське вдалося дізнатися від професора Королівського військового коледжу Канади в м. Кінгстон Lubomyr Luciuk, за ініціативи якого і відбулося встановлення вітражу.
За його словами, приблизно 45 тисяч українців брали участь у Другій світовій війні у війську Британської імперії. Тисячі з них були з Канади і тисячі вже ніколи не повернулись додому, захищаючи Західний світ від нацистських загарбників. А ще, саме канадські офіцери українського походження відіграли важливу роль у порятунку десятків тисяч українців після війни. Депортація до Сталінського СССР для більшості з них означала заслання та розстріли.
Зокрема, під час війни офіцери українського походження організували Асоціацію українських військовослужбовців Канади та «Лондонський клуб» у приміщенні, що було такою собі прибудовою до St James's Church. Згодом вони організували там Центральне українське бюро допомоги за фінансової підтримки українців з Канадського фонду допомоги та Об'єднаного українсько-американського комітету допомоги. Це бюро допомагало рятувати українських політичних біженців та переселенців.
Саме тому десятки тисяч українців змогли розпочати нове життя в Європі, Канаді, США та Австралії. Згодом вони стали тією українською діаспорою, що продовжувала боротьбу за свободу України, завжди нагадуючи світові про злочини проти людства, що скоїли совєтський та нацистський режими в Україні.
«Я був незнайомцем і ти дав мені прихисток» - такий напис на вітражі увіковічнює пам’ять про українців, які попри різне походження, різні долі та різні війни, не забули про те, що вони українці. Пам’ять про те, що вони змогли об’єднатися та разом подолати ті важкі часи, які принесли Україні два окупаційні режими.
Фото Roman Ryczkowycz - #ВмикайУкраїнське
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