Tag Archives: WWI
Remembrance Day
Today is Remembrance Day in Canada, the anniversary of the Armistice that ended the First Word War. It is a time for reflection on the nature of war and peace. I mentioned last year that I would be thinking today about my grandfather, who was a First World War veteran. There are ceremonies across Canada […]
In Flanders Fields
I am away until the end of May. Until I get back I am re-posting some favourites so you don’t miss me too much. “In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place,” – John McCrae There are no longer crosses in Flanders fields. Those were temporary wooden […]
They Are Lying To You
In our post-modern world Truth seems to have become a relative where it once was an absolute. Perhaps this is a logical consequence of the progression of communications methods during the 20th century. Certainly looking at wartime posters on display in a couple of European museums this past summer I was struck by the simplicity […]
Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917
I really didn’t want to go to another museum. I had been to the In Flanders Fields Museum twice in five years, and didn’t think the recently renovated Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 would offer anything different. I was over-ruled. Turned out I was right. And at the same time I was wrong. Our hosts at […]
Visiting the In Flanders Fields Museum
In 2009 I was in Ypres, Belgium for a day. I made the In Flanders Fields Museum my first stop. In 2014 it was a priority once more; as I wanted Vivian too experience it too. The Museum is located in the medieval Cloth Hall in the centre of town, a building completely destroyed during […]
Too Young To Fight?
When we visited the Commonwealth Military Cemetery at Essex Farm, near Ypres, Belgium, our guide pointed out the grave of V.J. Strudwick, who was killed in action January 14, 1916 at age 15. The official age to enlist was 18, for overseas service 19. Recruiters though generally didn`t ask probing questions, and identification documents were […]
They Ate Their Horses
Today we remember. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 the guns fell silent. The bloodiest war in human history to that date was over. But not for everyone. Today, as Canada pauses for the traditional two minutes of silence, I will be remembering my mother’s father. He […]
The Last Post
Tonight at 8, for the 29,758th time, the Last Post, the traditional salute to fallen warriors, will be played at the Menin gate in Ypres. It’s been a nightly ritual since 1928. Volunteers from the Last Post Association (and sometimes hundreds, even thousands of others) gather each evening to honour the British Empire dead of […]
In the Trenches of Passchendaele
The years between 1914 and 1918 were the wettest Europe experienced during the 20th century, or so I have been told. Those years coincided with the trench warfare in France and Belgium, literally millions of soldiers facing each other from trenches they had dug a few metres from each other. With the bad weather, to […]
Tyne Cot Cemetery
On the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website there is a warning: SCHOOL GROUPS: TEACHERS – PLEASE CLOSELY SUPERVISE YOUR STUDENTS, PARTICULARLY AT THE TYNE COT CEMETERY CROSS OF SACRIFICE. I presume the all caps are to emphasize the importance of the message. I’m not sure what exactly is meant by “supervise closely.” When we visited […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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