Dave Robinson, the National Student Tour Coordinator for the VE Day 65th anniversary tour, is the recently retired Head of Canadian and World Studies at Port Perry High School (PPHS) in Port Perry, Ontario. During his thirty years of teaching, Dave has organized many memorable educational tours for students all over Canada. This past school year, Dave initiated and organized the emotional Remembering Ortona tour, which saw 1,400 students and teachers from across Canada walk in the footsteps of Canadian soldiers through the Liri Valley and the streets of Ortona in Italy. The tour culminated in a special “mass for the Fallen Canadian Soldier” at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome.
Dave also initiated and coordinated the remarkable Vimy Ridge project with Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), which saw more than 5,000 students journey to France in April 2007 for the 90th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Dave also brought with him the largest civilian tour group Hong Kong had ever seen – 200 students along with VAC representatives and veterans – on a stirring tour to commemorate the Canadian soldiers who lost their lives there in 1941.
The first educational remembrance event tour Dave organized was with EF in June 2004 when he coordinated the participation of 150 students and teachers at the D-Day 60th anniversary celebrations at Juno Beach.