Let Me Learn From Where I Have Been

Posted on by CBF Students - Étudiants FCCB

There is nothing simple about war. And therefore, there is nothing simple about the way to remember the fallen.

Notre Dame de Lorette is a French Cemetery and the final resting place of 40,000 French troops. It is also the home of the newly constructed circular memorial called The Ring of Remembrance. This is a unique memorial in the sense that it includes the name of 580,000 soldiers of the First World War who lost their in the Nord and in the Pas-de-Calais. These names are listed in alphabetical order – there is no distinction made based on rank or nationality and friends and enemies are buried side by side. This memorial is remarkable. To see the thousands of names of men who came for opposing nations printed alongside each other leaves a profound impact and is incredibly moving. It brings these men together and recognizes the sufferings sustained on both sides. I managed to find one Brouwer among the many names on the memorial, and I’m not sure which country he came from. But it doesn’t matter here. No one is championed as a victor. No one is condemned for their actions. Instead, these 580,000 men are brought together, unified and eternalized in their common cause.

Contrast this with the Faubourg D’Amiens Cemetery that we saw this afternoon in Arras. There are a handful of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs buried here, but they are separated from the rest of the fallen because of their race. This shows how the task or remembering the soldiers of the First World War has shifted in the last 100 years. 100 years ago, soldiers were often separated based on rank and race. But on these qualifications don’t matter on The Ring of Remembrance, where everyone is equal no matter what side one fought for.

It is interesting to think that it has taken 100 years to get to this point. It has been a 100 year journey to move past the segregation of “good vs. evil” of the First World War. It will be interesting to see where the next 100 years takes us and if further progression will be made in the reconciliation of the countries who participated in the First World War. The Ring of Remembrance is the first memorial of its kind, however, if the path of commemoration continues in this direction, I, like you, will be waiting to see if more memorials like The Ring of Remembrance are created in the future.

In peace,
Danielle Brouwer
12 May 2015

The Search Begins – Day 2 continues

Posted on by CBF Students - Étudiants FCCB

After a delicious home-made lunch, we explored the Thiepval Memorial Centre before making our way up to the rather imposing monument. Thiepval was a joint project between the British and French governments, built in the 1930s, to commemorate the 74,000 young men who died in the various battles of the Somme between July and November 1916. In the shade near the Thiepval monument, Heather led a lively discussion about how different countries remember the Somme.

To contrast the British-French memorial for the Somme, we visited the Australian site at Pozieres. The Australian Imperial Force suffered 23,000 casualties in the area around the Windmill Site, about 6,700 dead. Instead of a towering monument, the Aussies opted for a bronze plaque with a bench in front of the ruins of the windmill that stood on the ground they fought so fiercely to capture and defend, with a concrete block walking trail leading to it.

From the high ground at the Windmill Site, we could see the Regina Trench Cemetery not too far in the distance. We figured it was time to visit a Canadian cemetery.

The Regina Trench Cemetery contains about 500 graves as a result of the back and forth fighting that took place. I had my first really emotional moment of the trip when I found the marker for Philias Carriere, a young man from Cornwall (my hometown) who served with the Royal Canadian Regiment. I planted a Canadian flag for him.

From the cemetery we tried to walk to where the German communication trench would have been but we’re foiled by a field. Desire trench was also nearby so we walked back up the hill to follow a different road only to run in to another field. While we didn’t make it to either of the trenches, we did make some explosive discoveries along the way, including half of a grenade and a shell. Both artifacts stayed behind, but there are a number of shell fragments and shrapnel that will be traveling to Canada with us.

Our last stop was the Carnoy Military Cemetery where we found CSG J.P. Alp, McKenna’s great uncle.

More to come soon (including pictures)!

Katie Beaudette

P.S. the bird decided it didn’t want to be our roommate, pooped on my bed, and left.

Hitchcock at Chavasse Farm

Posted on by CBF Students - Étudiants FCCB

After a long but well deserved night of sleep at Chavasse Farm, the smell of fresh bread and warm tea was all we needed to get us up and early this morning, Our first stop was the Hawthorn Crater: the wonders of technology allowed us to see the mine explosion itself on Geoff’s phone and a few seconds later we were IN the crater. On the way and back I desperately hunted for pieces of shrapnel but alas only found pieces of glass bottles of wine or beer and a few cigarette buts: looks like some people are still celebrating the end of the war … in the crater. I did find something I wasn’t expecting: a smooth stone which may very well be a former commonwealth tombstone that has since been replaced, Deanna dug for the rest of it on her hands and knees as Katie took pictures… she has a tendency to do that: 3 days in and already 1500 pictures! We made it to Beaumont-Hamel and it felt like being at home: having worked there last winter I was incredibly happy to see some former coworkers, we exchanged hugs and tears and within a flash I was brought back to my time as a guide there, giving the tour to the other students and leaders of the CBF trip. I was happy to share the story of the Newfoundland Regiment and it was certainly an emotional experience for me. We said our goodbyes to our fellow Canadians and were on our way to Thiepval!

It was nice to get to the farm and get things ready for our communal BBQ in the evening, everyone pitched in for a nice, hearty meal and we enjoyed good conversations with glasses of inexpensive and delicious wine. What sounds like a casual Monday evening became a little bit more exciting once Madisson went up to her room, screamed and ran back downstairs claiming a bird had decided it wanted to become the fourth roommate! Stay tuned to see how this story develops

Jessica Ozorak

What Day Is It? Oh, Who Cares, We’re Here!

Posted on by CBF Students - Étudiants FCCB

We’re here! We did it! Some of us may not know what day it is or what time it is, but we’re here! I realize my blog post was only supposed to cover May 10, but because most of us haven’t slept since the 8th it might cover a bit more than just a 24 hour day. We technically started May 10th enroute to Paris on an incredibly enjoyable Air France flight which included free movies of your choosing, multiplayer battleship and TWO meals. We arrived in Paris around 5:30 their time this morning and after grabbing our rental vans, we hit the road!

We stopped at a highway rest stop for a quick bite and then continued on to the town of Peronne to visit the Historial de la Grande Guerre. This museum was quite interesting since all of us had just visited the Canadian War Museum together and the layouts and materials used by the two museums are somewhat different. The museum in Peronne is largely based around material culture and presents the war through items like dishware, newspapers, visual art, and clothing. As a result, their message seems to always return to the war’s impact on everyday life instead of sweepingly national grand narratives. It also discussed people sometimes overlooked in these narratives, such as the Australians, Indians, and Turks.

After visiting the museum, we continued driving through the beautiful French countryside, making our way towards the lovely Chavasse Farm. This place is amazing, we’re so lucky to be able to spend a few days here. It’s everything you’ve ever pictured in a French country house. After getting settled in, we ventured out again to the Lochnagar Memorial Crater. We got to learn a little bit on the Somme there today as well as at the “Glory Hole” and at the cathedral in Amiens. We ended our day in Amiens, grabbing something quick for dinner.

It was a very long, but exciting day! As I write the draft of this blog post, I’m sitting outside at Chavasse farm, looking over the fields of the Somme reflecting on how thankful and how happy I am to be here. I’m looking forward to a good night’s sleep tonight and to really diving into the Somme offensive tomorrow with Beaumont Hamel, Courcellette, and some of the major monuments and memorials including Thiepeval and Ulster Tower.

Until next time,
Paige McDonald
May 10, 2015.

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