The Alberni Project - HMCS Alberni Memorial and Museum

06/15/2026

06/15/2026

How navy ropes are made.

06/13/2026

Sale begins on MARKET DAY, July 25.

06/12/2026

We may be packing up for an extended "dry dock" in November, but we are still open to receive donations of funds, securities, magic beans, and artefacts for when we reopen Bigger and Better than before. Today we received this great artefact transfer from the Vernon Museum of a gas mask. We have placed it temporarily in the case next to the embroidery created by Harry Warder while he was convalescing in hospital after surviving a gas attack in the Great War. Dig through your mancaves, excavate your basements and closets to see if there is something about your family's military history from the mid 1800s through the Mission in Afghanistan and see if there is something you might wish to pass on the story of those items.

06/11/2026

06/11/2026

🎉 Join Us as We Celebrate 50 Years of Community! 🎉

The D'Esterre Seniors' Centre Association is turning 50 and everyone is invited to celebrate this incredible milestone!

📅 Saturday, July 18
⏰ 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
📍 Near the gazebo closest to the d’Esterre Seniors’ Centre in Comox Marina Park

Bring your family, friends, and neighbours for an afternoon of fun, music, food, and community spirit!

🎶 Live music by The Optimists and additional entertainment
🍔 Hamburgers, hot dogs, and cold drinks for sale
🍺 Beer garden
🎨 Kids' Zone featuring face painting and games
🎈 Free admission

Did you know? The d’Esterre Seniors’ Centre began with a vision from local seniors in the early 1970s who wanted a dedicated place to connect and stay active. Thanks to the efforts of volunteers, community supporters, and the Rotary Club of Comox, the Centre opened its doors at 1801 Beaufort Avenue in 1976 and has been bringing people together ever since.

Today, we celebrate not only 50 years of history, but also the thousands of friendships, memories, and community connections that have been made along the way.

Whether you're a current member, former member, longtime supporter, or visiting for the first time, we cannot wait to celebrate with you!

For more information, visit comoxseniors.ca or follow the d’Esterre Seniors' Centre on Facebook.

Read more in the news release here 👉https://bit.ly/3QuTCUK

06/09/2026

The most famous su***de mission in military history was immortalized in a legendary poem. What the poem forgot to mention is that a 21-year-old kid from Toronto rode right into the cannons—and hacked his way out to win Canada’s very first Victoria Cross.

In Balaclava, Crimea, on 25 October 1854, the order came down, and everyone who heard it knew it was a fatal mistake.

Over six hundred British cavalrymen were being ordered to charge directly down a narrow valley into the mouth of a massive Russian artillery battery, with enemy cannons firing from both flanks.

They went anyway.

Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote "The Charge of the Light Brigade" to immortalize the slaughter. The poem is world-famous.

What is not famous—what almost no Canadian knows—is that a 21-year-old from York, Ontario, Alexander Dunn, rode in the vanguard of that charge.

Born in York (now Toronto), Dunn was a towering 6-foot-3 officer with the 11th Hussars. On that horrific October morning, he rode directly into the "Valley of Death."

The charge went forward at 11:10 AM. The Russian guns at the end of the valley opened fire at point-blank range. Men and horses were ripped to pieces in quantities that the charging survivors could not look at without losing their nerve.

But Dunn reached the guns.

In the absolute chaos of the Russian line, surrounded by smoke and screaming horses, Dunn didn't just survive. He went on the offensive.

Using his cavalry sabre, he violently hacked his way through the enemy, personally cutting down multiple Russian lancers to save the lives of at least two of his dismounted comrades who were about to be slaughtered.

For his unbelievable bravery in the hand-to-hand fighting at the cannons, Alexander Dunn was awarded the Victoria Cross in the very first distribution of the medal in 1857.

He was the only Canadian in the Charge of the Light Brigade. And he was the first Canadian-born person in history to receive the Empire’s highest award for valour. Alexander Dunn eventually rose to the rank of Colonel.

Tragically, a man who survived the deadliest cavalry charge in history met his end far from the battlefield. While commanding British forces in Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia) in 1868, he was killed in a bizarre hunting accident.

He was just 34 years old.

The Charge of the Light Brigade is one of the most celebrated and analyzed events in military history. Yet the Canadian who rode into the valley, saved his men, and won our first Victoria Cross has been almost entirely left out of our national memory.

He rode into the Valley of Death.

He came back.

He was from Toronto.

The aftermath was catastrophic. Of the over 670 men who charged, only 195 rode back with their horses. Well over 270 were killed or wounded in a matter of minutes.

I Will Remember - Alexander Dunn

06/09/2026

BEWARE OF HEFFALUMPS AND WOOZLES!
Our staff of volunteers have once more transformed our Education Centre into another fantastic exhibit. Shifting from the dark-themed 'GALLIPOLLI: Legend of the Anzac' in April, the room has been magically metamorphosed into a story we have all grown up to love and enjoy. "SILLY OLD BEAR: The True Story of Winnie-the-Pooh" opens tomorrow morning (June 9) at 10 am and will continue to entertain visitors through Remembrance Day (which will, sadly, be the last day that HAMM will be open to the public for a couple of years). Admission is free, though donations to help us continue our work during our upcoming "two-year dry dock" are graciously accepted. New summer hours are Monday - Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm. Special Sunday openings are available for groups of 6 or more with prior reservations.

06/06/2026