Near Cumberland in Comox Valley, British Columbia — Canada’s West Coast

Ginger Goodwin

B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0), October 13, 2016

1. Ginger Goodwin Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Cumberland was a coal mining centre from 1888 until the 1960's.

Union Bay was the coal port that shipped Cumberland's coal to the rest of the world. At least 260 people, most of them recent immigrants from China, Japan, Britain & Europe, died in work-related accidents in the Cumberland mines.

Albert “Ginger” Goodwin took part in the 1912-14 mine workers' strike on Vancouver Island. In 1918 the union organizer and former B.C. Federation of Labour vice-president returned to Cumberland to evade conscription. A Dominion Police special constable killed Goodwin near Comox Lake: he said it was in self-defense, but the circumstances remain unclear to this day.

Goodwin's funeral procession stretched a mile from Cumberland to the cemetery.

Erected by Province of British Columbia.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Industry & Commerce • Labor Unions. A significant historical year for this entry is 1918.

Location. 49° 38.213′ N, 125° 0.482′ W. Marker is near Cumberland, British

Richard Eriksson via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

2. Ginger Goodwin Marker

Click or scan to see
this page online

Columbia, in Comox Valley. Marker can be reached from Minto Road, half a kilometer east of Comox Valley Parkway/Cumberland Road, on the right when traveling west. Marker is in a pullout on the edge of Cumberland Cemetery, west of the main entrance. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4441 Minto Rd, Cumberland BC V0R 1S0, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regarding Ginger Goodwin. Goodwin's death prompted a 24-hour protest work stoppage in Vancouver on Aug. 2, 1918. It is considered Canada's first general strike.

Also see . . . Albert Goodwin. Wikipedia entry on the labor activist, whose death remains controversial more than a century later. (Submitted on December 11, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Albert "Ginger" Goodwin (1887-1918) image. Click for full size.

Via Cumberland Museum and Archives (fair use)

3. Albert "Ginger" Goodwin (1887-1918)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 12, 2022. It was originally submitted on December 10, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 72 times since then and 4 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on December 10, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 2, 3. submitted on December 11, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.