Lest We Forget
Today we take a moment to remember those who gave so much so that we can live in freedom.
And...we do remember.
We wear our poppies as a symbol of our understanding of the the many great sacrifices made on our behalf.
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.
John McCrae with his horse, Bonfire.
When my daughter, Alison (pictured above) worked at Veterans Affairs, she was on a team that came up with a wonderful idea. The Books of Remembrance reside in the Rotunda in Parliament on the Hill. These books are a National Treasure. The pages in the books list the names of our fallen soldiers across past wars. Their team realized that so many of our veterans from WWII are too elderly to travel to Ottawa to see the books and find a name of a fallen comrade...so...they decided to tour the books around the country. Veterans could visit their closest air base or provincial parliament building and ask Alison or one of her colleagues to turn to the name of a dear friend. Extreme care was taken and the books were displayed in a climate controlled situation. Alison has related to me how deeply touched our elderly veterans were to be given this opportunity close to their home all across our vast nation.
Each day a page is turned in each of the seven Books of Remembrance in the rotunda. Yes, visitors can make an appointment to view a particular name in the book during non-Covid times.
Here are a few samples of pages from the books.
They are ornately designed.
Beautifully hand printed.
Alison was able to meet Pat with his father at a special commendation awards ceremony she helped organize back in August, 2011.
Pat's dad with the Minister of Veterans Affairs.
Our fellow OVGRS member, Terry Foley wrote the following poem which we will share today. Here is Terry's account...
Back
in 1998, when I was still serving in the Army, we all joined in our tri-service
officers' mess to commemorate Battle of Britain Night, when the RAF and their
brave young men from all over the Free world, including the USA [pretending to
be Canadians], caused Hitler's luftwaffe to have a radical rethink and began
their inevitable slide into oblivion. The luftwaffe never truly recovered from
their horrendous losses, and although their light often shone brightly on
occasions, particularly on the Eastern Front, it was never on for very long
thereafter.
As
a person with a reputation as a seanocheadh - story teller - I was often given
the job of writing some kind of memorial for a well-regarded person posted away
to other jobs, and their subsequent dining-out of the mess was an evening to be
remembered, mostly. Battle
of Britain Night, however, was a time to not only recollect and ponder just how
much of a close-run thing it had really been, but to recall those who had died
during its two-month long course.
This
is just one of about six or seven little poems I wrote for the occasion. It
portrays the letter written by a RAF Squadron Leader to the mother of one of his
'blokes', who had gone up of his own free will to fight the would-be invaders,
but had not returned the same way...
Dear
Mrs Brown, your son is dead,
I didn’t know him well.
I only saw him once
or twice,
Before he fell.
At breakfast, just like all the lads,
He
scoffed his jam-smeared bread.
“Just like mum’s!” he joked to me,
And now
he’s dead.
I didn’t see him hit at first –
Just a hint of
fire.
Then suddenly, without a sound,
The flame became a
pyre.
There was nothing we could do,
Two others went the same way
too.
A silent crash, that noiseless flash.
Young Brown, went
down.
So, Mrs Brown, this dreadful letter,
I really wish I’d known him
better
But half a day’s no time at all,
A good lad, so sad.
I’ll
miss him, just like all the others.
I’m going to write to all their
mothers,
Until one day, just wait and see,
Some friend will do the same
for me.
Tac Foley 1998
Terry Kelly is a Newfoundland singer/songwriter. He is blind, but oh he sees so much of the world much deeper than most.
He has written an endearing song based on an episode that happened to him over twenty years ago.
On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a drug store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the store's PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.
Terry was impressed with the store's leadership role in adopting the Legions two minutes of silence initiative. He felt that the store's contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembering was commendable.
When eleven o'clock arrived on that day, an announcement was again made asking for the two minutes of silence to commence. All customers, with the exception of a man who was accompanied by his young child, showed their respect.
Terry's anger towards the father for trying to engage the stores clerk in conversation and for setting a bad example for his child was channeled into a beautiful piece of work called, A Pittance of Time. Terry later recorded A Pittance of Time and included it on his full-length music CD, The Power of the Dream.
At my school, we have shared Terry's song every Remembrance Day at our whole school assembly. We were blessed to have Terry come and sing at our school when he toured Ontario which was a great thrill for the students.
Video of Terry Kelly singing his song
A Pittance of Time
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kX_3y3u5Uo
We remember those who lost loved ones.
We cherish each day that we have...thanks to our fallen comrades.
High Flight
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds,—and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of—wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark nor ever eagle flew—
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
Poem written by a young RCAF Pilot, John Gillespie McGee, shortly before his death.
We remember those soldiers who never made it home.
We spend time today in deep thought...
We help keep the memories alive.
We listen to our hearts.
I have always felt it important that the children come to school on Remembrance Day. This gives the teachers the opportunity to teach our young students about the importance of Remembrance. The image above and the others that follow were taken at my elementary school over the years.
In my class the children realized the importance of the poppy.
Many asked why the poppy was chosen as a symbol of Remembrance.
Yes, the children learned of the ravages of war (introduced to them at their level of understanding) and how it is so important to work toward peace. They learned that peace can begin within themselves...in how they conduct themselves out on the playground when little issues arise and in how they relate to their peers, their teachers, their parents and others in their community.
The boys and girls enjoyed making their own poppies and they always brought in donations for the poppies that are distributed by the Canadian Legion on Remembrance Day.
They learned that when the bombs destroyed the many homes and buildings in Europe which were built out of limestone, the lime dust and debris filtered into the soil. It just so happens that poppies thrive in soil enhanced with lime...thus...a short time later, our troops would spot fields of poppies where the homes and buildings used to stand.
Each year, we decorated the front lobby of the school with work the teachers and school children would create.
In the display case we would hold items of Remembrance brought in by the school families.
Very touching images and stories.
Some of the people appearing may be a parent or grandparent of the students.
Yes, as this lobby display illustrates...
...we must always remember.
Each year a special assembly is held on Remembrance Day and each class creates a wreath to be laid down at a special point in the ceremony.
Guest visitors from the military and from civilian life are invited to speak.
The artwork reminds us of our fallen.
Classes present poems and songs...
...and special artifacts are brought in as a strong teaching tool.
The students take this period of the school year very seriously.
And...they will never forget.
Animals helped bring joy to our soldiers.
As I have mentioned, each year in school we commemorate Remembrance Day and in the assembly we select a theme for the year as directed by newsletters sent out to schools from Veterans Affairs.
One year, the focus was on the contribution of animals in the war effort...be they dogs who were bomb sniffers, homing pigeons who delivered secret intelligence...and a wide variety of others. We came across this story of how the famous literary character Winnie-the-Pooh originated in Canada during the war.
Did you know there’s a Canadian connection to the honey-loving character brought to life by A. A. Milne? Winnie-the-Pooh was based on a real-life bear who lived in the London Zoo, and he got there thanks to a Canadian soldier and veterinarian named Harry Colebourn.
When Harry met Winnie
It all started in White River, Ontario. Harry was at a train station where he bought a little bear cub for $20, which would be about $429 in today’s dollars. He named the cub “Winnipeg Bear” after the town he grew up in — that’s where the name “Winnie” comes from, it’s actually a nickname! Since Harry was on his way to Quebec, to join fellow soldiers heading overseas for World War I, the bear went with him. When Harry and his troop left for England, Winnie was right there with him on the ship.
Winnie takes a trip
In England, Winnie became the mascot for Harry’s troop, which was called the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade...pictured above. Winnie was a popular member of the team, and the brigade played with her whenever they had downtime. (That’s right, Winnie was a “her”!) When the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade received word they were going to France, it came with the order that Harry could not bring Winnie. But the silver lining was that Winnie would be loaned to the London Zoo — a move that would later become permanent once Harry realized how loved she was by all the zoo-goers.
The London Zoo and Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie wasn’t just beloved, but one of the most popular animals in the London Zoo at the time. Thanks to Harry and the other soldiers, Winnie was very tame, so children who visited her at the zoo could ride on her back! Zoo-goers could also feed Winnie, but it wasn’t a pot of honey — this bear’s preferred sweet treat was a mix of corn syrup and condensed milk. Can you guess who two of Winnie’s most frequent visitors were? None other than Christopher Robin (pictured above with Winnie) and his father, A. A. Milne. Christopher Robin named his teddy bear after Winnie, combined with the name of a friend’s pet swan, “Pooh,” to create Winnie-the-Pooh.
Winnie-the-Pooh and friends
Inspired by his son’s teddy bear, A. A. Milne published Winnie-the-Pooh on October 14, 1926. The very first book about the silly old bear also included Piglet, Eeyore and Kanga — all toys in the book as they were based on other real-life toys of Christopher Robin’s — and Owl and Rabbit. It wasn’t until the second book, The House at Pooh Corner, that Tigger was introduced, and he was also based on one of Christopher Robin’s stuffed animals.
Once Winnie-the-Pooh became a published character, the rest is history. Everyone fell in love with the stuffed bear from the books, just as they did with Winnie in the London Zoo, only this little bear could reach all parts of the world! In fact, Winnie-the-Pooh was even translated into Latin and became the very first foreign-language book to make the New York Times Best Sellers list. The image above is a statue of Winnie-the-Pooh at the London Zoo.
Today, the bear that started it all is commemorated at the London Zoo with the statue, and the story of Harry and Winnie lives on through a plaque donated by White River, Ontario — the town that brought a soldier and a bear cub together.
...we lose one of our Canadian...
Highway of Heroes Song
"Highway of Heroes", was co-written and co-produced by The Trews and Gordie Johnson (Big Sugar) and was inspired by the 2006 death of Captain Nichola Goddard from The Trews' hometown of Antigonish, NS. Canada's Highway of Heroes, is the section of the MacDonald-Cartier freeway named to honour those who have sacrificed all in service of country.
Video of "Highway of Heroes"
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsCVlM1CSPU
We hope and pray for continued freedom around the world.
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