home > news > Unit 5

NATO vets honour woman

Walter Gowing, Special to the Times

• 

  NATO vets honour woman. Gerry Bryan, president of the NATO Vets, presents a medallion to Galt Legion member Joan Laidlaw for outstanding service. Walter Gowing, Special to the Times

The NATO Veterans Organization, Cambridge Area Unit 5, has honoured a local woman with a distinguished award.

Joan Laidlaw of Cambridge has been presented with a medallion for outstanding service to veterans and her country.

All the memorial wreaths placed at the Galt cenotaph each Remembrance Day have been handled and cared for by Laidlaw.

Since the merger of the Ayr legion branch with that of the Galt Branch 121 of the Royal Canadian.Legion, Laidlaw has looked after the wreaths that are presented in North Dumfries at the Ayr memorial each year.

Born and raised in St.]ohn’s, NL, she worked as a civil servant with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War.

Coming to Galt in 1945, she was employed for 35 years by McCurty FloWers.

She was married to the late Bill Laidlaw and has a son Bill and a daughter Marise Robb, both living in Cambridge.

The care and refurbishing of memorial wreaths takes months leading up to their presentation on Remembrance Day each year.

Laidlaw cleans; repairs and stores the wreaths, and orders new ones when needed so that the quality and honour of the wreaths can be respected when placed by individuals and organizations at the cenotaphs.

In presenting the medallion, NATO presidents Gerry Bryan praised Laidlaw for her more the 20 years of looking after the memorial wreaths.

He said, “When Joan takes on a responsibility of a project, she puts her heart and soul into whatever she does by paying very close attention to detail.”

Since the Cambridge NATO group was founded in the summer of 2008, it has placed wreaths at remembrance services at each of the three Cambridge legion branches and one in Brantford, on Remembrance Day.

“We Wish to pay our respect to the members of the armed forces who have made the supreme sacrifice,” said Bryan, “including Canadian Forces NATO in Afghanistan.”

Charles Rose, president of the Galt Branch 121 ofthe Royal Canadian Legion, expressed his delight that Laidlaw received the medallion of honour from the NATO group.

“She is an active member of the Galt legion and membership chair of the legion’s ladies auxiliary,” said Rose.

He praised her for “out-standing work" at the legion branch.In accepting her medallion, Joan Laidlaw said, “It is all a labour of love.”