Canadian War History Tours

12/08/2024

Just remembering a great discovery on one of my tours. I was guiding 4 veterans, actually one still serving. We were in France at the Ring of Remembrance, right across from Notre Dame de Lorette. It's a massive metal ring with over half a million names of the fallen from France all named alphabetically including Germans. As we went along the still serving doctor saw a relative's name and she exclaimed, "I knew he was in the war, but I thought he came back." We looked him up on Canada's Virtual Memorial and he was buried nearby. It was a thrill to make this discovery and just one of the many rewarding things experienced on these tours.

12/03/2024

Bodies in the Somme area. Staggering numbers.

Dear Diary,

We moved back to the Bluff today. I wish my battle was only with the Hun and not my body as well, which has now reached a severe level which I can’t hide anymore. If I don’t improve soon I shall have to go sick.

There is the constant smell of death about and the feeling that we are going to get bombed again at any minute. The Hun has been very accurate with their shelling today. It is a really horrible sight, seeing so many men die in just a few seconds. They are sending these young men, some of them mere boys, ‘over the top’ to face near certain death. There will be a very unpleasant smell here in the summer. I only hope we are not here then.

The posters in the town at the outbreak of this war were nothing but lies, I wish we were all at home where we belong, with our families and not in this wretched place. I can feel it’s about to get much worse. When my time comes to cop it, may it be quick and merciful. I could always refuse to go over the top and end up getting shot for insubordination or Cowardice. Surely that’s an easier way to go. Perhaps the real cowards are the Generals who designed this war. I wish I had never joined the army, we are like lambs being led to slaughter.

On the 4th of August 1914 Britain and much of Europe were pulled into a war which would last 1,566 days, cost 8,528,831 lives and 28,938,073 casualties or missing on both sides.

Lest we forget

Three young men answer Kitchener’s call.
A close friendship and a dark sense of humour is the only thing that makes life bearable in the horror they face in the trenches. This book definitely pulls at the heart strings.

TRENCH 31. By Clive Ward, Veteran In memory of my uncle. Private Bertram Allen Ward, 10th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters. Lest we forget.

www.clivewardauthor.com

UK Kindle price £2.96 UK Paperback £6.96
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trench-31-Clive-Ward-ebook/dp/B07JYHK67Y/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1541085500&sr=1-2&keywords=trench+31

CDN Kindle $4.98 CDN Paperback $11.73
https://www.amazon.ca/Trench-31-Clive-Ward-ebook/dp/B07JYHK67Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1540908996&sr=1-1&keywords=trench+31

US Kindle $3,80 US Paperback $8.95
https://www.amazon.com/Trench-31-Clive-Ward-ebook/dp/B07JYHK67Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1540909682&sr=8-2&keywords=trench+31
AU Kindle $5.36

AU Kindle $5.36
https://www.amazon.com.au/Trench-31-Clive-Ward-ebook/dp/B07JYHK67Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1540910143&sr=1-1&keywords=trench+31

11/24/2024

First World War gas bomb explodes in Flanders
Sunday 17 November 2024
By
The Brussels Times with Belga

A mustard gas bomb dating back to the First World War has been uncovered in a bale of straw in Langemark in West Flanders, after the detonator exploded when a farmer was moving the straw into his barn.

As VRT NWS reports, the bomb exploded on Saturday, and it was fortunate that nobody was injured.
"The explosion was significant, causing major damage to agricultural machines. No one was injured, but people were very frightened; it could have been much worse," commented local fire captain Dirk Vandekerckhove on the VRT channel.

The shell was then placed on another vehicle, but the bomb started to leak.

"A puddle of liquid formed under the bomb," stated the farmer who discovered the device.

It appeared to be mustard gas, also known as yperite, named after the Flemish city of Ypres where this chemical weapon was first used on a large scale during the First World War.

"Yperite is a very aggressive and dangerous substance," explained Captain Vandekerckhove, who took no risks.

"The contamination was neutralised by a specialised team of firefighters from Westhoek," he said.

There was no evacuation order for the area, but if the entire bomb had exploded, "it would have been a disaster," he added.

In addition to the chemical impact, the explosion could have caused even more damage.

"The bomb disposal experts who came to remove the bomb said part of the cow barn could have been destroyed," said Captain Vandekerckhove.

11/21/2024

Last day in Guelph I spent some time with "Jack" on the grounds of Guelph Museums. There's an identical one in Ottawa that were commissioned for the 100th anniversary of the poem, "In Flanders Fields," in 2015. Sculpted by Ruth Abernethy.

11/17/2024

Information panels at McCrae House in Guelph, Ontario. It's a national historic site and a museum in the modest bungalow where John McCrae, writer of "In Flanders Fields," was born.

11/17/2024

Artist Tyler Briley and a couple of wonderful portraits in his show at the Kent Farndale Gallery, in the library of Port Perry, Ontario. Recognize these heroes?

11/15/2024

Dear followers in the Toronto area, this Saturday morning at the McLaughlin Armoury at 53 Simcoe Street in Oshawa, I'm giving a presentation about WWI soldier and eventual NHL star defenceman, Red Dutton. Meet and greet is at 9:30 and my presentation starts about 10:30. It's called "Keep Punching: The Three Lives of Red Dutton."

Please come if you're in the area. He was an amazing character. Overcame a catastrophic shrapnel wound to his right hip just after the Battle of Vimy Ridge to become an NHL star, and eventual President of the NHL, followed by a stellar career as a construction tycoon in Calgary, building the Jubilee Auditoriums, McMahon Stadium and Chinook Mall among other projects. He also built runways for the BCATP during the Second World War. Come on out if you're near the "Shwa!"

The event is hosted by the Central Ontario Branch of the Western Front Association.

11/12/2024

My illustrious host and President of the Central Ontario Branch of the Western Front Association, Glenn Kerr. Crackin' the Lagavulin. Photo by Jacob Saunders.