High school students across PEI will receive an educational and entertaining history lesson next week when actor David Morris performs "Canadian Infantry Soldier - First World War." This one hour monologue will tour all secondary schools between October 26-30 and will expose students to the harsh realities faced by Canadian Infantry Soldiers in WWl.
The David Morris tour schedule is as follows: Morell Regional High School and Colonel Gray High School, Monday, October 26; Westisle Composite High School and Three Oaks Senior High School, Tuesday, October 27; Souris Regional High School, Wednesday, October 28; Bluefield Senior High School and Charlottetown Rural Senior High School, Thursday, October 29; and Kinkora Regional High School, Kensington Intermediate Senior High School and Montague Regional High School, Friday, October 30.
Morris' "Canadian Infantry Soldier - First World War" script was based upon extensive interviews with five different veterans of the Great War and to date, has been seen by over 250,000 high school students. He has also researched and written 18 other scripts based upon the lives of historical figures and he has performed his monologues mainly in Ontario and Quebec. In 1985, he made a radical career change, as he went from performing in the world of theatre to an almost exclusive use of his skills in the educational field. Currently, Morris is researching and writing a script that will explore the experiences of Second World War Canadian fighter pilots and prisoners of war.
"Canadian Infantry Soldier - First World War" is a prelude to national Veterans' Week, November 5-11. Veterans' Week is a time for the nation to focus on the achievements and sacrifices made by Canadians in the wars and other armed conflicts that took place during this century. November 11, 1998, Remembrance Day, is especially significant as it marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the First World War.
The PEI Department of Education, Veterans Affairs Canada and the Provincial Command of the Royal Canadian Legion, are co-sponsoring "Canadian Infantry Soldier - First World War."
For more information, please contact Jim Johnston of Veterans Affairs Canada at (902) 566-8119; Jim MacAulay of the Royal Canadian Legion at (902) 892-2161; or Wanda Whitlock of the Department of Education at (902) 368-4639.