Memorial Planting for Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough at her Elementary School, Regal Road Public School

As many of us know, a Canadian CH-148 Cyclone helicopter, known as Stalker 22, crashed in the Ionian Sea April 29, killing four members of the air force and two from the navy. The first victim to be repatriated was Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough. Her repatriation coincided with the Canadian Armed Forces ramp ceremony that took place on Wednesday, May 6th to honour the six service members, followed by the now traditional 170km journey down the Highway of Heroes. Even during a global pandemic, thousands of Canadians turned out to pay their respects to Sub-Lt. Cowbrough and her fallen comrades. 

While we at the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign always take a moment to reflect on the responsibility we have taken upon ourselves whenever one of these repatriation ceremonies take place, nothing is more powerful than the moment a family or friend reaches out to us for help in creating a special memorial. A living memorial.

Two weeks ago, we were contacted by friends and family of Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough about planting a tree in her honour. Although Abbigail called Halifax home, many of her early years were spent growing up in Toronto. Through an emerging collaboration between the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign, a coalition of friends and family of Sub-Lt. Cowbrough, and the Toronto District School Board, plans have now been set in motion to have a tree planted at Regal Road Public School, the school she attended from kindergarten to grade 4. A date for a special ceremony at the school will be set for this fall. Together, we will leave a living tribute to Sub-Lt. Cowbrough and a reminder to many generations of students at Regal Road Public School that they walk in the very same footsteps as a true national hero.