Manitoba memorial lakes
In 1945 the Geographical Names Board of Canada began a program to name previously unofficially named features after casualties from all three branches of the Canadian armed forces. With around 100,000 lakes, most without names, Manitoba has been an enthusiastic adopter of the program. In 1995 the project to commemorate the 4,000 Manitoba casualties from the Second World War by naming lakes, islands and bays after them was completed. The province has had a full-time toponymist since 1971 to manage the naming of its geography. Locations are researched to ensure that names with long-standing local  use take precedence and only then given a commemorative name randomly. Since 1995 the province has been commemorating casualties from World War I, the Korean War, Afghanistan and U.N. peacekeeping missions. Early names. In July 1947, the province of Manitoba, Canada, named 25 lakes after 26 men who lost their lives on active service in the Second World War. These were: There are more than 4,200 lakes, islands, bays and other geographical features named after Manitoba's war dead.