Annual Events
Christ Church Anglican Memorial Windows
Reverend Harold Appleyard became rector of the church in 1938, and he hoped to be there for a long time. However, after the war broke out in 1939, and he heard about the young men from Meaford losing their lives overseas, he decided he would be able to serve better over there. In 1941 as a military chaplain with the honorary rank of Captain he was posted to southern England in July of 1942.
The destruction in the area appalled him, especially the churches and the beautiful shards of glass from their shattered windows. He soon came up with the idea of collecting these fragments of colored glass, some of which was centuries old, and have a memorial window made for his church in Meaford. He spoke to Mr. G. S. Sherrin who was responsible for the ancient churches of London, who referred him to Cox and Bernard Stained Glass Works. Mr. Cox agreed to design and relead the glass to fit Christ Church Meaford free of charge in gratitude to the Canadians for their part in the war effort
For the duration of the war he spent his spare time digging through ruins, finding his treasures, cleaning, labeling, and cataloguing the pieces. He stored them in a small metal trunk and continued his quest as he traveled with his regiment to Holland, Belgium, France, Ireland and Wales. He was also able to salvage a piece of an oak pew from Christ Church, Westminster, London. It was burnt and charred but Rev. Appleyard cleaned it up and had the names of the members of his congregation who had paid the supreme sacrifice on it.
