Cochrane veteran and senior Brian Walford received a warm hug on Nov. 3 – in more ways than one.
The retired member of the Canadian Armed Forces was honoured alongside some of his family members at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 15 in Cochrane with a Quilt of Valour presentation.
After a brief address from Cochrane Legion branch president Steve Jepson and local quilter Valerie Lange, members of Walford's family wrapped his elaborate quilt, which is adorned with a mosaic of multi-coloured Canadian flags, around his shoulders.
“I don’t know what to say or how to say it, other than thank you ladies and my family for supporting me all those years,” said a visibly emotional Walford, after receiving his quilt.
When asked earlier how it felt when he learned he'd be receiving a Quilt of Valour, Walford replied he was happy and gracious – but also surprised.
“You can’t describe the feeling, it’s just gratitude," he said. "The girls, they put a lot of work into those things. They’re fantastic, so it was quite a shock, in a way.”
Originally from Kingston, Ont., Walford has lived in Cochrane since 1991. He settled in the town after retiring from a decades-long military career that saw him stationed around the world, including Germany, Egypt, Bermuda, Florida, and on bases throughout Canada.
“I was in the army before I joined, I was in the reserves. I was with the artillery, so I’ve done just about everything,” he said.
“When I was in Victoria, I did time at sea on an American ship and a Canadian ship. I went to Florida, Bermuda, and Shilo, where I was artillery – I’ve done everything.”
Walford said his decision to settle in Cochrane after a life of living around the world was due to the town’s lack of earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes – three natural disasters he’d experienced elsewhere during his career.
“I grew up in Tornado Alley in Ontario, near Windsor,” he said. “I was in Victoria when Mount St. Helens went up in 1980. I was in a hurricane in Florida and a hurricane in Bermuda. No thank you – I’ll suffer with winters [in Cochrane].”
The Quilts of Valour initiative was started in 2006 in Edmonton, where a local woman named Lezley Zwaal wanted to hand-knit a quilt for three veterans coming home from the war in Afghanistan. Her inspiration was to provide the returning soldiers, who were wounded with both physical and mental injuries during the war, with a warm, hand-sewn quilt as a token of gratitude.
Fifteen years later, Quilts of Valour is now a full-fledged non-profit and registered charity. With volunteers around the country, more than 90,000 quilts have been woven and distributed to deserving veterans across Canada.
Many of those quilts have been produced at the local legion in Cochrane, where in the last five years, a group of 10 to 12 women from across the south-central Alberta region have met once a month to produce the stunning fabrics.
"The group in southern Alberta is active enough that most years, we’re giving 10 to 15 per cent of the quilts given across Canada," said Valerie Lange, a member of that group, who presented Walford's quilt last Friday on behalf of the local legion.
After the presentation, Lange told The Eagle a little more about the quilts, which due to their large size are typically produced as a team effort, rather than individually.
“The quilt tops generally are made by quilters using their own fabric," she explained. "The batting and backing is generally provided, but most of the tops are provided from people’s collections.
“Someone makes the blocks, someone else puts it together, and someone else quilts it. And then it goes to a fourth or fifth person who puts the binding all around.”
Lange said it's a big deal for a veteran to be presented with a Quilt of Valour, as there is a vetting process to ensure each recipient has earned the right to receive one of the quilts. She said in Cochrane, public presentations are rare, as most of the recipients tend to request
“Many veterans are very private and aren’t particularly willing to do this kind of [public ceremony], she said. “That’s one of the things for the quilters – we never know who is getting our quilts. I’ve made over 80 quilts in the last 15 years.”
Steve Jepson, president of the Cochrane Legion, said it was an honour to see a quilt be presented at the local branch.
“This is something, for me personally, I don’t remember when a Quilt of Valour was last presented at this branch, but this is special to us and for me in my term," he said, adding he felt Walford was a very well-deserving recipient.
