A veteran with strong ties to the Royal Westminster Regiment recently passed away.
Walter Tyler, who was raised in New Westminster, passed away on Aug. 27 after complications following surgery. Tyler, 94, was one of the founders of the Royal Westminster Regiment Museum that’s located in the Armoury.
Tyler was active with the Westies through his entire life and served with the Royal Westminster Regiment in the Second World War. He continued to volunteer at the museum, where he shared memories of many of the people featured in the memorabilia.
In 2013, Tyler received a Canadian Forces Decoration – five decades after serving overseas. When the president of the Royal Westminster Regiment Association learned that Tyler hadn’t received the medal back in 1957, as he should have, he worked to ensure that Tyler was able to receive the medal that’s awarded to members or the Canadian Forces who have completed 12 years of military service and meet certain conditions related to good service.
A service of remembrance was held at the Royal Westminster Regiment.
Sapperton stories
You can take another look at Sapperton’s history at the New Westminster Historical Society’s upcoming presentation.
The presentation is taking place on Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the New Westminster Public Library’s auditorium, 716 Sixth Ave. The topic is: More of Sapperton – Ongoing Studies on This Neighbourhood.
“For a number of years, three people with Sapperton connections have worked together to seek out stories, information, curious and quirky anecdotes and images related to that northern neighbourhood of New Westminster,” said a press release. “These three – Carol McMeekin, Wayne Wou and Archie Miller – continue to look for more Sapperton materials, and the October presentation will feature some new local details.”
School sites, the waterfront and a tale the “peanut butter” factory that used to stand nearby are some of the stories to be featured. It’s free, and all are welcome.
Salmonbellie scholarships
The New Westminster Salmonbellies had an “exceptional” response from its alumni to help support students with academic scholarships.
In celebration of the 125th anniversary of Salmonbellies lacrosse, the New Westminster Salmonbellies Alumni and Friends Society has awarded 10 academic scholarships of $500 each to local student athletes who are pursuing post-secondary education.
“Every year the Bellies alumni put out a request to Salmonbellies’ players, both current and past, to apply for funding to assist with their post-secondary education costs and upon receipt, gather the dedicated volunteers of the scholarship committee to review the applications,” David MacGrotty,president of the Salmonbellies alumni, said in a press release. “We are always pleased with the response from our student athletes, and this year’s submissions were exceptional.”
The recipients of this year’s Salmonbellies Alumni and Friends scholarships are: Braden Gagner, Justin Goodwin, Thomas Kearnes, Tommy Robertson, Kyle Robinson, Connor Robinson, MacKenzie Stevens, Lauren Stewart, Michelle Stoke and Tristan Ranford.
The scholarship program traditional awards five scholarships annually. In recognition of the Salmonbellies 125th anniversary and in consideration of the strong calibre of applications, the board agreed that all of this year’s applications were deserving of the funding.
