In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,


That mark our place; and in the sky


The larks, still bravely singing, fly


Scarce heard amid the guns below.



We are the Dead. Short days ago


We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,


Loved and were loved, and now we lie


In Flanders fields.



Take up our quarrel with the foe:


To you from failing hands we throw


The torch; be yours to hold it high.


If ye break faith with us who die


We shall not sleep, though poppies grow


In Flanders fields.

Mixed messages again

I found a quite nice Youtube video about WW II. God Save the Queen was included. Not the right one - God Save the King - would have been more appropriate.

Pack up your troubles - in a WW II headline. Really did not anyone study recent history. This is World War I.

So I went over to Youtube again and I found some very nice mixes of old 1940s songs. A good friend made me a couple of tapes some years ago and my mom really liked them. So where are they and where is my tape player?

How do you count?

I was watching a short clip of today’s memorial in the Netherlands. It was 65 years ago today that World War II ended in Europe. The Canadians are well remembered and some elderly ones were there for the ceremonies. The group gets smaller every year.

The announcer mentioned that the veterans are now in their 70s, 80s and 90s. I do not think they are in their 70s - they were older than 5 years old!

Food and its issues

Reading two articles this morning as I eat my healthy breakfast.

The American military is concerned that they will not have enough recruits in the coming years because so many of the young people are very much overweight.

Then a radio clip from CBC about food being dropped into the Netherlands at the end of WW II. There were many who starved - young children and the elderly were most at risk. The British and Americans dropped in food parcels. It was quite emotional for the pilots doing the drops.

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This time of year the Dutch connection in Ottawa is quite evident. The Dutch royal family lived in Ottawa during the war. In thanks to the Canadians they send tulip bulbs every year. They make the city look beautiful with all the bright colours.

World War 2 movies

I continue to be quite impressed by the Rogers DVD rental service. There is all kinds of good stuff there. I do like the series but I have seen a number of good movies.

Miracle at Midnight with Mia Farrow. I found it because Patrick Malahide (Inspector Alleyn series) is in it. It tells a story of a family in Denmark who help their Jewish neighbours.

Mrs Henderson Presents with Judi Dench. The show must go on. It takes place at the start of the war in London with a theatre and its daring presentations. There is a moving scene where she flies over to France to visit her husband’s grave from World War 1. She says I do not think I will be back for a while. The next scene is a news clip about France being invaded.

I cannot help thinking that my mom would have also enjoyed the second one.

Civilians during the war - Civilian Protection Committee

"The threat of a German bombing raid on Montreal was taken very seriously in those days, and the city was organized in case one occurred."
http://hughdoherty.tripod.com/memory.htm

"In the early stages of the war Mother became a Civilian Protection Committee (CPC) officer. This meant she was issued an armband, a gas mask and flashlight. She patrolled the neighbourhood during practice blackouts to look for light leaks around windows that might tip off any lurking German bombers."
http://www.chamblycounty.com/Lorne5.html
　
Poking around in the family archives I found a card belonging to my mom - Civilian Protection Committee Montreal - no. 1158; 24 October 1942; Montreal General Hospital.

My mom worked at the Montreal General. Again when I was winding up the Lachute house I had to deal with the mail that my mom received. I did not bother to contact organizations that were asking for charitable donations - except for the Montreal General Hospital. She had been involved in some way with the hospital for over 60 years. I thought they deserved a little note which is what I sent them.

Two men - a former soldier and a soldier

The picture was taken in the side yard of the house where my dad grew up in Lachute. It was also on Princess Street close to where Kathi and I grew up.

I did a bit of research online and in the family archives in my basement. Unfortunately there are fewer records about my dad’s side of the family.

The Gallipoli campaign ended in January 1916. Sometime around that time or earlier my grandfather went home to England. My dad was born in July 1917.

I have a feeling that my grandfather was enrolled with the Lancashire Fusiliers. I found them online quite easily. They have a museum and their headquarters are in Bury where my dad was born.

There are other famous folks in this regiment.
- Duke of Wellington- Battle of Waterloo
- James Wolfe - Battle of the Plains of Abraham
- J.R.R. Tolkien - Lord of the Rings
- Earl Grey - a tea was named after him

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My dad took his dad to a performance of a Military Tattoo in Montreal. I think I found the program from this performance when I was cleaning up the house in Lachute. My grandfather was most impressed by the Tattoo.

I share an interest in military music. My grandfather and my aunt (his second wife) would take an extended holiday in Florida in the winter. My dad would go into the house to check on things and I would often go with him. For entertainment he would put on some of the military marches on the record player - maybe a stereo system?

When my grandfather’s household was being dismantled I got these records. I kept them until I disposed of my stereo a few years ago. Not too long after this I bought some Cds of military music.

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This remembering of World War I veterans was highlighted this year as the last one in England died. There is only one Canadian left and he is living in the U.S.

November 11, 2009

The image is quite moving. After the Remembrance Day service at the National Cenotaph in Ottawa folks come forward quite spontaneously and lay their poppies on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

This year we remembered King George VI who dedicated the Cenotaph in 1939 - just months before the start of World War II. His grandson - Prince Charles and his new wife Camilla were present for the ceremony this year.

It was a beautiful sunny day for a change in Ottawa as usually the weather is cold and wet. The younger members of the Prime Minister’s family were wearing some warm mitts - a smart move anyway.

Vets or vets??

When I am reading the headlines of the local newspapers - and I do read the Ottawa Sun online as well as the Ottawa Citizen - a familiar word will catch my eye.

Vets to share…was one of the latest.

Is was not about war veterans as some stories will probably be closer to November 11. It is about veterinarians like the ones who look after Abracadabra and the famous ones depicted in All Creatures Great and Small.

Military places

I was walking recently near this hotel - the Lord Elgin in Ottawa. My mom had stayed there during the war when she went to visit my dad who was stationed at Camp Borden which is north of Toronto. The cornerstone on the hotel was dated 1941 which is the year my parents got married.

I was driving yesterday around the Ottawa Airport and I took a different route through CFB Uplands. I thought that my neighbours had lived there. Actually they had lived at the other military base in Ottawa - CFB Rockcliffe. Now there are various Facebook Groups to help folks reconnect.

Retracing one's steps

I was watching a very interesting program on History Television. It was about 2 fellows from Newfoundland retracing their relatives stories at the Battle of the Somme. They went to where the battle happened.

They were trying to match places with pictures in a film - very interesting how that was done. They were also trying to match pictures with actual people.

My mom was born during this battle in July 1916.

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One of the groups mentioned was the Lancashire Fusiliers. I think this may have been my dad’s dad regiment. Gallipoli was mentioned. That is where my grandfather was wounded and then he went home to England and then my dad was born in July 1917.

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My dad was stationed in Belgium at one point during the war. He mentioned being at the site of a famous battle. He could not mention specific places by name but it was easy to figure out that it was Waterloo.

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On another more personal note - the Lachute Protestant Cemetery is on a small hillside. Turning around from where my dad is buried you can see the Rivière du Nord. (It was known as the North River when my dad was growing up in Lachute.) He used to go swimming down by the bridge.
　

D-Day: 65 years later

So the day to remember is tomorrow. There is always a big celebration in France. There was a big to-do this year - the Queen was not invited. Prince Charles is going instead.

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From my dad’s letters to my mom:

#175 (April 5, 1944) - I am glad to be in the country. London is packed with troops on leave. Canadian accents are as common as English and I would say more common in the local pubs.

#192 (June 5) - Something is sure to happen tomorrow.

#200 - We are still sitting around waiting for something to happen. I don’t suppose they have found a job suited to our superior talents.

#207 (August 4) - Normandy. We have been taking life very easy waiting for them to find us a job.

*****

I have in the family archives copies of official diaries that my dad wrote every day from August to December 1944. They are quite entertaining.

Christmas 1943 and 1944

From the letters my dad sent my mom during the war.

Christmas 1943 in England:

I have received the Christmas parcel with the fruit cake. Is there the legitimate amount of rum in it?

We shall be looking after the men at the noon meal. (I presume he meant the tradition of the officers serving.)

The batmen have got their hands on a chicken for us - from where we don’t ask too many questions.

Entertainment was provided on Christmas Eve to keep most of the boys out of the pubs before Midnight Mass. I took the Protestants down to the midnight service in the local village church- all seven of us to be exact. (He was in a French Canadian regiment.)

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Christmas 1944 in mainland Europe:

I almost forget what it is like to have a real winter blizzard. Heaven knows what it does in this part of the world in winter.

Is the Christmas present still unopened? It had better be.

The officer came back with a live goose and a duck - our Christmas dinner is assured. Next year I will be sampling your culinary art I hope. (He did.)

Christmas tree preparations. What you really needed was me for supervision and technical instruction and you to do the work. I can visualize up some wonderful ideas of decoration reclining at my ease with a glass in one hand.

November 11th

My dad when he went into the service - I am guessing. He looks so young.


I have in my house his war memorabilia - his helmet, his war records, his medals.

I also have a stuffed doll that my mom made to keep her company when my dad was overseas. His name is Major.


I also have all the letters that my dad sent my mom when he was overseas. They make for very interesting reading.


My dad's dad was at Gallipoli and he was wounded there. He always had trouble with his back after that. He went home to England and my dad was born in July 1917. The family immigrated to Canada in 1925. My dad was 7 and his sister Joyce was 5. Now you can find the passenger lists for the ships at Libray and Archives Canada.


Grandpa Milnes was an active member of the Legion in Lachute. So was my dad in his time. Each year there was a picture of the WWI vets in the local newspaper and my grandfather was in it. Each year the group got smaller.


Growing up in Lachute I remember the church parades and the service at the
Cenotaph. My parents had several records by Vera Lynn - the Forces Sweetheart. Now you can find some of her recordings on YouTube.


Living in Ottawa for over 30 years I have memories of the service at the National War Memorial. It has been many years since I have been there in person. The weather is usually cold and dreary which it promises to be again today.


This year I paid a visit to the War Museum. There were lots of schoolchildren there which was good to see.


I may watch later today my tape of the program of the repatriation of the Unknown Soldierin 2000. Another possibility is the movie - A Foreign Field. Both are very moving.


From IMDB - "Amos and Cyril are a pair of British veterans from WWII, going back to Normandy 50 years after D-Day to visit an old buddy's grave. There, they run into Waldo, an American WWII vet. And both Waldo and Cyril run into a French woman they were both enamored of in their soldiering days and begin squabbling over her. Waldo's son and daughter-in-law are putting up with him and each other. And the entire group meet up with a woman who has come to visit the grave of her brother. Together, they form an odd camaraderie, bound by the past as they share their memories."