When Lorne Colford was nine, a local newspaper in the early 1930s reported he saved two boys from drowning at a Dartmouth wharf. More than 90 years later, Pieter Valkenburg found the clipping while researching Colford’s life. He’s still looking for a photograph of him as a soldier. Colford is one of two Nova Scotia soldiers Pieter and Daria Valkenburg are asking families to help them find pictures of this Remembrance Day. The other is Charles Joseph Younes, whose parents ran a grocery store in Halifax. Both men died in 1945 and are buried in the Netherlands. From their home in North Tryon, P.E.I., the Valkenburgs have collected 519 photographs of Canadian soldiers from across the country. They’re helping cemeteries in the Netherlands and Belgium gather photographs and life stories for online memorials families can visit from home. Two names to look for in family albums Charles Joseph Younes, also known as Chas, was born in Halifax. His parents, Albert Charles and Susan Younes, came from the Middle East and ran a grocery store at what was then 38 Cornwallis St. The family attended nearby St. Patrick’s Church, according to the Valkenburgs’ research. Younes served with the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada. He died March 30, 1945, and is buried at Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in the Netherlands. The couple hopes someone will recognize the names of his siblings. His brothers were Joseph Anthony and John Albert. His sisters were Mary Cecilia, whose married name was Corey, Margaret Mary, whose married name was Waller, Anne Cecilia and Josephine Catherine. Colford was born in Chezzetcook, N.S., on Aug. 18, 1922, to Howard James and Jeanette Sarah Colford. The family moved to Dartmouth while he was still a boy. That’s where the Evening Mail account places him at Cunard’s Wharf. Under the headline “Drowning Averted by Quick Action,” the paper reported Colford saved two boys on separate occasions within two weeks. The boys had been fishing at the wharf. Valkenburg said Colford couldn’t swim himself. Colford served in the Canadian Merchant Navy before going overseas with the army, Valkenburg said. He was serving with the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry when he died on April 14, 1945, at age 22. He is buried at Holten Canadian War Cemetery. Colford’s brothers were William, Howard, Richard, Melbourne and Lloyd. Richard and Melbourne also served overseas during the Second World War. His sisters were Dorothy, whose married name was Ferguson, Elsie, Emma and Goldie, whose married name was Thorpe. A photo found by another soldier’s family Valkenburg knows the picture he’s looking for can turn up in an unexpected place. That’s what happened with Barney McGuigan, a P.E.I. soldier who was 15 when he enlisted and 16 when he was killed in Germany in February 1945. Valkenburg had reached relatives who knew about McGuigan but didn’t have a picture. Years later, a woman in the Toronto area came across the couple’s blog “On the War Memorial Trail” while looking for information about her grandmother. Her family had a connection to another soldier Valkenburg had researched. Her mother found a group photo taken during training in Vernon, B.C., with the soldiers’ names written on the back. McGuigan was in the picture, standing beside the other soldier. A relative also helped Valkenburg get McGuigan’s age corrected on his headstone. Veterans Affairs Canada now lists his age at death as 16. Pieter says McGuigan is the youngest soldier buried at Groesbeek. When he visited in 2025, he placed a P.E.I. flag beside the headstone. Why the work continues Pieter Valkenburg was born in the Netherlands in 1944. He was too young to remember the wartime hunger his family lived through, but he remembers what his father told him afterward: never forget the Allied soldiers who liberated the country. During their 2025 trip marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands, Pieter and Daria placed flags at 383 graves across 14 cemeteries in the Netherlands and Belgium. The flags included Canadian, provincial, Acadian and Indigenous flags. They said people approached them to thank Canadians for what the soldiers had done. “We saw people going to the graves with their children,” he said. That same year, Valkenburg was appointed a Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau. He said the honour also reflected the importance the Netherlands still places on remembering those soldiers. Daria writes about the people they research and has published more than 500 stories on their blog, Valkenburg said. He also volunteers with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, checking headstones at four cemeteries in his area. He visits twice a year, cleans markers when needed and sends in photos and reports on their condition. Back home, much of the search comes down to looking up names and making calls. Anyone with a photograph of Charles Joseph Younes or Lorne Mart Colford, or a lead on where one might be found, can email the Valkenburgs at memorialtrail@gmail.com. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
