Chantal Clabrough

Westmount High School, Westmount, Quebec

The Westmount High School Memorial Project was a decade-long endeavour to research and commemorate the lives of the school’s alumni who served and died during the Second World War.

Since 2014, Chantal Clabrough has guided her grade ten students through the process of conducting historical research, using school yearbooks, community-based, national and international archives, and digital resources. Students choose an individual soldier to research and piece together their life story, making connections to Canada’s broader wartime history. A final reflection assignment provided students with the opportunity to consider the impact and legacy of war on their soldiers, their families, and their community. Students have contributed more than 140 soldier biographies to the school’s memorial website. The completion of the project also coincided with the school’s 150th anniversary celebration as the oldest public English high school in Quebec.

In a world where history can sometimes feel distant, Chantal Clabrough bridged the gap for her students, empowering them to connect to the past in a profound way.