Three Generations of Roofing Installations
British Columbia’s very own roofers as they take a photo before being shipped to England in 1939
The Beginning
In 1939 a crisis broke out in Europe as the Third Reich invaded their neighbouring country Poland. After recovering from the Great War of 1914 not many countries in Europe had anything but fatigue from the horrors of war and were hesitant to build up their armament industries and logistical support systems in the years leading up to 1939.
England and her Commonwealth Nations were not immune to this and as the Second World War broke out they found themselves scrambling to build up their infrastructure during the period known as the “Phoney War,” a period lacking any major combat theatres despite a state of war existing.
With the large demand for infrastructure far exceeding available manpower England turned to her colonies for assistance. While many men were quite past the appropriate fighting age they were still able to assist in the war effort which is where our story begins with Paul Cortner beginning his journey to England.
Foreign Shores
From their small British Columbian communities men like Paul were called upon to assist overseas in construction detail such as cedar shake installations on barracks to house the rapidly expanding Armed Forces.
While in England Paul had many small adventures and met many men such as Charlie, who preferred to carry cedar shakes on his head, as well as many unmentioned others. His fondest memory of his entire journey was going to Buckingham Palace itself to repair the roof on a damaged outbuilding, the Chapel, where he got to briefly interact with the Queen Mother and a young Princess Elizabeth.
Paul, bottom left, installing cedar shakes on a barracks in England
Paul & his good friend Charlie installing cedar shakes.
The final photo of Paul’s journey to England as he boards the ship that will take him home.
Home At Last
Eventually the build up of infrastructure was completed and while there was still need of skilled tradesmen the rapid expansion was over. The men who shipped over to help in this expansion were then sent back home to their families.
Paul returned home to Tsawwassen in 1940 and kept active in his occupation of roofing installations. He had three sons: Paul, Dale and Calvin which he taught all of them from a young age the trade. Dale & Calvin took up the legacy of skilled roofing tradesmen while Paul joined the Canadian Air Force. Dale remained in Tsawwassen where he recently retired while Calvin moved to Kelowna in the 1980’s.
Calvin began roofing again in Kelowna in 1986 working his way up from the bottom to becoming the top installer for the largest company in town. When his boss retired after a long career in 1995, eleven days after the birth of his son, he created his own company: West Country Roofing.
After 27 years of running his business in the Okanagan and creating a business that didn’t require any websites, branding or even advertising running solely on contracts & word of mouth referrals he finally retired and closed down the doors of West Country Roofing.
But while that iteration was over a new one was born as his son, Brandon, created West Country Roofing Ltd. in 2022 focusing on a new direction for the company sharing the same name and the same legacy that has created three generations of installers and 30 years of a local family run business.
Local Kelowna Roofing Company
A New Direction
Hi! My name is Brandon Cortner. I was born in Kelowna and raised in Kelowna. I am the President & Founder of West Country Roofing Ltd.
In 2022 I created West Country Roofing Ltd. to continue the family legacy of roofing installations and being involved in the roofing industry.
From the moment I stepped on my first roof as a ten year old to pass my father shingles to now running my own business the industry has changed a lot in the Okanagan.
My father was still hand nailing when I started, synthetic underlayment has replaced tar paper, ridge cap can now be snapped apart instead of cut and the standard of quality has slowly increased as the market has more competition now than ever that is forcing change.
Looking forward into the future I’m excited to see the changes coming to the roofing industry and implementing them into my business. From the new materials being developed, the new products to aid in installations and the new measures being implemented to enforce higher standards there is so much coming to us!
Thank you for browsing our website and reading our story – if you need help with your project don’t hesitate to ask!
The Boss Hercules, President Brandon & Secretary Mackenzie.