Town expresses interest in Sister City talks with Zonnebeke, Belgium 

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Saugeen Shores council is open to exploring a Sister City relationship with Zonnebeke, Belgium, in the name of peace, remembrance, and global friendship. 

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Without making a commitment, town councillors approved a Notice of Motion Oct. 27 directing the mayor to prepare a letter – an expression of interest – in exploring a Sister City relationship with Zonnebeke. It’s in the Flanders area near Passchendaele, where the Great Canadian Sacrifice is honoured annually, and the Canadian Tyne Cot Cemetery where many Canadians soldiers are buried. 

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Nurturing the Sister City relationship is a passion for Southampton resident and Legion member John Willets – the child of two British veterans – who said he hoped to inspire the Town to express formal interest in the concept. 

There’s a shared history between the two communities, Willets said at the Oct. 27 meeting, noting one-in-10 of Bruce County’s 40,000 residents enlisted in WW1.
Fifty eight of the 478 Saugeen Shores and Saugeen First Nation men who volunteered in WW1 and WWII lost their lives and seven are buried in Flanders, Willets said. 

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“This is about the birth of our Nation,” Willets said referring to the Sister City initative.
“Twelve thousand Canadians rest in Belgium – seven from the shore – and the Maple Leaf still flies in this community…” where the similarities include agricultural roots with a strong rural identity and a tourism and heritage economy with a deep remembrance of culture. 

Willets said the “depth and breadth” of the Sister City initiative is cultural heritage, school and youth exchanges, developing the global viability of tourism and the economy, and raising the international profile with national connections.

Asked what drives his passion for the project, Willets said it was growing up in England with two parents who enlisted. It was having veterans as neighbours –including one WW1 vet who picked shrapnel of his arm to “surprise” little boys, and a boss who was an RAF prisoner- of-war. 

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“Those stories stay with us. My kids don’t know those stories. Many of you had no parents who served in those environments,” he said, adding his search for the best way to honour veterans arose from talks about remodelling the aging Southampton Cenotaph/Cairn/Cross.  

Coun. Cheryl Grace, who helped bring the Notice of Motion to council, said she’d had personal successful experience with the Sister City program – both hosting exchanges and visiting twin communities. 

Noting the school board supports the Sister City project and that local students have ties with veterans – they recently placed poppies on veterans’ graves in Southampton – Grace said the initiative would “be great in keeping the legacy of Canadian Military sacrifice alive for future generations…” 

Asked if Zonnebeke officials are interested in becoming a Sister City, Willets said he’d had several conference calls with an alderman who was also chair of the museum board to discuss their mutual interest.
Willets said he discussed the opportunity last November with the then-mayor of Zonnebeke and presented him with a Canadian flag. 

“What happens next? It’s like dating in high school,” he said.  

Council approved the Notice of Motion expressing interest in exploring a Sister City relationship. 

Willets will present the letter to Zonnebeke officials this Remembrance Day. 

There’s a shared history between Saugeen Shores and Zonnebeke, Belgium. Seven of the 58 Saugeen Shores and Saugeen First Nation men who died in WW1 and WWII are buried in Flanders.

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