Edmonton’s No Stone Left Alone to honour fallen soldiers in Krakow, Poland

What started as a small way to honour Canada’s fallen soldiers in Edmonton six years ago has expanded beyond anything those behind the ceremony thought possible, reaching an international level.

For the first time, No Stone Left Alone will hold a ceremony outside of Canada, in Krakow, Poland.

No Stone Left Alone is an initiative that aims to place a poppy on the grave of every Canadian who has served in the country’s Armed Forces. It began with one Edmonton family in one Edmonton cemetery in 2011. About 4,000 poppies were placed on headstones in the first year.

READ MORE: No Stone Left Alone honours fallen Canadian military

Last year, the coast-to-coast movement was marked at 114 cemeteries across the country and included 44,000 soldiers.

“It’s been all organic and it’s been quite incredible,” Randall Purvis, chair of the No Stone Left Alone Memorial Foundation, said of the event’s growth.

Watch below: No Stone Left Alone ceremonies held across Canada

A ceremony will be held on Friday in Poland, to pay tribute to the allied soldiers who did not return home to Canada and are buried in the Krakow Rakowicki Cemetery.

“The name is No Stone Left Alone, which means that literally no stone should be left alone and Canada has been involved in a number of wars outside of Canada and not all soldiers have come home even though they perished,” said Thomas Lukaszuk, a Polish Canadian involved in the movement.

“There are Canadian headstones all over the world and these are stones that have never heard the Canadian anthem being played over them, they have never had a proper Canadian memorial ceremony. So what No Stone Left Alone will do from now on is expand this program internationally and make sure that children in other countries adopt those Canadian headstones and give them a proper memorial ceremony once a year.”

Purvis said they have already met the children who will be involved in Friday’s ceremony in Krakow. He said it’s incredible to see how far this movement has grown and how well it’s been received by the partners in Poland.

“We’re honouring the soldiers, but it’s the students – that’s the heart of our initiative. They’ve sent us pictures already and they’re really excited about getting involved.”

Purvis estimates there are between 2,600 and 2,800 Canadian soldiers buried in allied graves in five different locations in Poland. The goal is to make sure the ceremony is stable in Poland before expanding to other countries.

“We’ve got a lot of interest in a lot of different countries wanting us to go there,” Purvis said.

Listen below: 630 CHED’s Ryan Jespersen speaks to Thomas Lukaszuk about the upcoming No Stone Left Alone ceremony in Poland.

For more information on No Stone Left Alone, or to donate to the cause, head to the organization’s website.

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