32. The Royal Canadian Legion

The Sunderland Legion – 104 River St

The Legion was formed in 1929 and celebrates its 80th anniversary this year. It’s correctly known as the Royal Canadian Legion, Brock Branch 141. In 1949, the Ladies Auxiliary was formed. In 1958, the Legion bought the house of Dr. Robert Grierson and used it for their meetings and Legion activities. Later, the property next door was purchased. In 1973, the new Legion hall was built, and this is the building that you see today.

Recently, the Legion received funds from a federal New Horizons for Seniors grant to renovate the building and purchase new furniture. All of the details about the history of this building and the veterans of branch number 141 have been described in the 2009 commemorative calendar about this site. The mandate of the Legion is to look after the welfare of local veterans and their families and to provide support for community activities as those needs arise.

The cenotaph at the Town hall displays the names of the 23 servicemen killed in World War I and the 16 servicemen killed in World War II from the Sunderland area. It was built in 1922 to honor and remember those veterans. The Legion now provides a variety of services to the community. These include shuffleboard, euchre bingo, breakfast and lunches, and ballroom dancing. The Legion is also an inexpensive venue for the celebration of various social events.