Posted By pferguson on February 16, 2012

The new Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery. Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery includes 110 identified casualties and was the first new cemetery built by the Commission in 50 years.

A Richer Dust Concealed

The recent discovery of 21 German soldier’s bodies at Carspach on the south-eastern portion of the Western Front is truly remarkable. With their virtually intact and well preserved trench and underground shelter, this amazing site should be declared a world heritage site. After all it is wooden structures, such as these, that are usually lost forever to the wrath of time. The images of the site are amazing and those engaged on the site must feel extraordinary reverence for the men who walked its path and lived in the caverns below.

Stretching for 450 miles the Western Front’s line of conflict ran south from the dunes of the Belgian coast through Northern France.  Eventually it turns towards the east and heads towards the Swiss border passing through the French provinces of Lorraine and Alsace. It is not surprising, and considering the movement of armies, that when the machines of today rip through the countrysides of France and Belgium that encounters with the remains of the Great War are regularly discovered. Still each discovery is exceptional and the breadth of this “Pompeii of the Western Front” truly breathtaking in scope.

Many shards and fragments of war lie amongst these fields of valour and so too the bones of men, whose flesh has fallen away. Their discovery is intimate, and brings to those who find them profound memories that will live with them for a lifetime. Perhaps there is something personal found along side, or they remain in a tattered uniform, their rusted helmet next to them. Still there is the chance of a single piece of evidence that might identify them to bring identity to this soul perhaps killed outright or suffocated while buried alive.

It is near impossible to place an excavator’s shovel into the ground on the Western Front and not encounter the Great War. At times, with construction completed, roads give way to these tunnels and dugouts carved by the military’s engineers.  It happens everywhere, perhaps when a garden is dug at a person’s home, or when a sinkhole reveals an elaborate labyrinth of the Great War.

At the solemn and dignified Visitors’ Centre at Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial, Zonnebeke, Belgium, that includes German bunkers within its borders, the number of discovered artifacts through excavation for the foundation of its Visitors Centre was profound and provided instant and provocative material for the centre’s exhibits. Sitting upon the field of battle, and next to the gravesides of men from all nations the centre’s objects are the remains of the day that can be seen, unearthed from sacred ground.

The Western Front continual gives up its dead, reminding us once again of the fate of men caught in the gas clouds, explosions and rapid fire of the war. At the Boesinghe canal site 155 bodies have been given back to us and at Fromelles, the discovery, in 2009, of a mass burial returned 250 Australian and British soldiers to the surface. From the earth they have returned and to the earth they are reburied, but the memory of their sacrifice so many years ago is rekindled in the hearts of today’s generations.

When the excavators fall silent to the sounds of a new discovery, it further becomes our responsibility to take a moment of time to reflect and remember those who went before us. From atop the parapet and from below the surface, whether it is ninety-nine or one of the fallen, their loss and rediscovery, reminds us, in the words of Rupert Brooke,  “In that rich earth a richer dust concealed.”

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Tags: Boesinghe, Carspach, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Fromelles, Interpretive Centre, Pompeii of the Western Front, Remembrance, Rupert Brooke, The Dead, Tyne Cot Cemetery, Tyne Cot Memorial, Tyne Cot Visitors Centre

Posted By pferguson on February 8, 2012

Resting place of Robert Kennedy, Sancourt British Cemetery. The inscription reads, "ONE OF OUR FALLEN HEROES. ONE OF BRITAIN'S BEST".

Robert Kennedy D.C.M., M.M. and Two Bars
16th Battalion C.E.F., Trenches Mouquet Farm near Pozières September 3 – 7, 1916

The 16^th Battalion C.E.F. began their journey to the Somme on August 27, 1916 when they marched from Eperlecques to St. Omer. From here they boarded a train which brought them onto the Somme the following day. After a few days marching they arrived at Tara Hill on September 2, 1916 and next moved to Mouquet Farm, nicknamed “Mucky Farm” and as “Moo Cow Farm” by the Australians.

Kennedy was originally a Cameron Highlander having joined the 43^rd Battalion C.E.F. in Winnipeg. He was wounded twice. The first time on September 7, 1916 when he suffered a gunshot wound to his left hand and on October 8, 1916 (the Regina Trench Action) when he was hit by gunshot to the left arm and left leg.

On October 1, 1918 Kennedy was killed. It was on this same day that that his actions, during the attack on Cuvillers, France, led to the award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal. Kennedy is buried at Sancourt British Cemetery, Nord, France.

Citation for the Award of the Military Medal to Robert Kennedy

Announced in the London Gazette: December 9, 1916

“This N.C.O. had charge of the rationing during period Sept; 3^rd – 7^th. Although there was continuous shell fire day and night, the men were always supplied with rations and water. Much of the carrying had to be done overland as the trenches had been blown in. He has always displayed the finest conduct in the trenches.”

No citations have currently been traced for Kennedy’s first and second bars to the Military Medal, representing three awards of this medal for “Bravery in the Field”.

Did you know?
Robert Kennedy is one of five soldiers of the Canadian Expeditionary Force who were awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Military Medal and Two Bars. The others are:

Legendary northern British Columbian woodsmen John Ogilvie “Skook” Davidson (29^th Battalion), Albert Kilby Hibbert (4^th Canadian Divisional Signal Company, Canadian Engineers), George Johnston Oliver (1^st Canadian Divisional Signal Company, Canadian Engineers) and Edward Slattery (3^rd Canadian Infantry Battalion). Of these soldiers Davidson, Kennedy and Oliver were Scottish born. Slattery was killed August 30, 1918 and is buried at Valley Cemetery, Vis-en-Artois, Pas de Calais, France.

A picture of Robert Kennedy has not been traced.

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Tags: 16th Battalion C.E.F., Bravery in the Field, Distinguished Conduct Medal, Inscriptions, Military Medal, Mouquet Farm, Robert Kennedy, September 1916, Somme, War Graves

Posted By pferguson on February 3, 2012

Great War wounded outside a convalescent hospital, somewhere in Devon, England.

Forgotten Landscapes of Calling

The popularity of the PBS series Downton Abbey has been much discussed by historians and critics. Despite the criticisms, the audience remains eager for the next episode, engaging with others about the latest plots and subplots. As the second series has moved into the experiences of the Great War, at home and overseas, it is conspicuous how much interest has been created in the history of 1914 – 1918. Little known subjects have been brought into the lives of the Downton audience creating discussion and banter amongst fans. This new audience has rarely considered the ramifications of the Great War outside of their own family connections. However, they have created interest and debate within the study of the war’s affects on populations; dialogue necessary for all of us to come to an informed understanding of that war to end all wars.

The number of British and Empire wounded in the First World War was large, in excess of 2,000,000 men and women. For Canadian forces, the wounded, and those who suffered gas exposure numbered 138,166 individuals. Accidental injuries, disease and other illnesses increased that number, and together had the potential to overwhelm the medical facilities and their staff. However, these facilities were soon augmented by the conversion of several buildings, ranging from schools to hotels, stately homes and royal residences into temporary military hospitals.

Downton Abbey is filmed on location at Highclere Castle which in September 1914 was transformed from a residence into a Great War convalescent hospital by Alimina Herbert, the 5^th Countess of Carnarvon. The stately home remained a hospital until 1922. A generation later, during the Second World War, Highclere was once again transformed into a home for child evacuees escaping the terror of the Blitz.

Canadian Convalescent Hospital, Bear Wood, Wokingham, England. Home of the Walter family, original proprietors of "The Times" newspaper.

In Canada, returning soldiers convalesced in temporary hospitals at similarly converted buildings such as the Qualicum Beach Hotel or in Victoria at Craigdarroch Castle, the former Dunsmuir mansion. In these places, here and elsewhere across Canada, the wounded, gassed, sick and injured were cared for by trained medical staff and volunteers. They were near to home on Canadian soil, yet after all they had endured, some succumbed to their traumas and their gravesides can be found in local cemeteries.

It is these non-fictional Downton Abbeys whose stories linger in the pages of history that are often overshadowed by greater events and places of the day. Many of these homes and buildings remain with us sitting upon forgotten landscapes of calling, and where from within the halls and wards the voices of the Great War may still be heard.

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Tags: 5th Countess of Carnarvon, Alimina Herbert, Bear Wood, Convalescent Hospitals, Craigdarroch Castle, Downton Abbey, Gas, Great War, Highclere Castle, Masterpiece Theatre, Military Hospitals, PBS, Qualicum Beach Hotel, Walter Family, Wounded

Posted By pferguson on February 1, 2012

William Henry Metcalf V.C., M.M. and Bar. The Canadian Daily Record, November 26, 1918.

William Henry Metcalf V.C. M.M. and Bar
16th Battalion C.E.F., near Courcelette, France. October 7-9, 1916

In November 1998, the Canadian Scottish Regimental Museum was presented with the decorations, campaign and coronation medals of William Metcalf. This twice wounded veteran of the Great War was born in Waite Township, Maine, U.S.A. and joined the 12th Battalion C.E.F., September 23, 1914. In May 1915 he was transferred to the 16th. It was whilst on the Somme that William Metcalf and other members of his regiment, including Piper James Cleland Richardson, were recognized for their gallantry in action.

Metcalf was awarded the Military Medal for “Bravery in the Field” the first of three honours he was to earn during the Great War. Although citations for the award of the Military Medal are difficult to obtain, citations for awards, prior to December 1917, are more readily available.

Citation for the award of the Military Medal to William Henry Metcalf

Announced in the London Gazette: 6 January 1917

“For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty near COURCELETTE on the 7th, 8th, and 9th October, 1916. On the night of October 7th word was brought to a Battalion Headquarters, that a man was lying in a trench some distance away, bleeding to death, this N.C.O., a signaller [sic] volunteered to go and bind up his wound, which he did, although the trench was under terrific shell fire and he was in great peril. During the next two days he repeatedly went over the heavily shelled area and repaired broken telephone wires, thus keeping up communication with Brigade, which was of immense value to the situation. During twenty months service in the field his conduct has been one of uniform bravery and cheerful devotion to duty.”

Metcalf was later awarded a Bar to the Military Medal (for Amiens) and subsequently the Victoria Cross (for Arras). He survived the war.

William Henry Metcalf Medals: Victoria Cross, Military Medal and Bar, 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal, 1937 Coronation Medal, 1953 Coronation Medal. Canadian Scottish Regimental Museum. Exhibition “For Valour”. November 9-15, 1998.

Did you know?
William Henry Metcalf is one of five American born servicemen to have become a recipient of the Victoria Cross. The others are:

William Seeley, a member of the Royal Navy aboard H.M.S. Euryalus for his actions at Shimonoseki, Japan in 1864. The other three American Victoria Cross recipients served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. They are Bellenden Hutcheson (75th Battalion), George Mullin (Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry), and Raphael Zengel (5th Battalion).

In addition, the American Unknown Soldier became a recipient of the Victoria Cross in 1921.

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Tags: 16th Battalion C.E.F., American Victoria Cross Recipients, Americans in the C.E.F., Courcelette, Military Medal, October 1916, Signalers, Somme, Victoria Cross, William Henry Metcalf

Posted By pferguson on January 27, 2012

Like the fingerprint seen on a 1,000 year old jar; the imprints on the rooftop of this German bunker on the Messines Ridge offers the observer the opportunity to wonder.

As I wander about, at the start of my day, I inevitably look upon the cracked concrete slab of the parkade and allow myself to drift. I follow the lines in their contortions and soon find myself turning to a great adventure. I am reminded of Burton and Speke, the Mountains of the Moon and the explorers’ quest for the source of the Nile. As I watch the lengths that these lines of imagination take I can move along to the Yser, the River Somme, the Fosso Munio or some other watery landscape and see the patrol, the convoy, the opposing side or slip away to another interest.

Imagination can take us too many new places if you allow it to cast its glow. Not that I walk around in a dream-like state all day – far from it. These paths of imagination encourage creativity and constantly lead me on a path of lifelong learning and knowledge. They can be segues into understanding, rekindle images that I have seen, places I have been and remind me of quests once forgotten and then rediscovered. It could be a person, place or thing. Imagination makes every day unique. It separates the routine from the extraordinary and that in itself is magical. Imagination is deep concentration.

Today I may look for answers about bridges, rivers, place-names, shoulder titles, helmets, or star-shells. Inevitably in that quest I am reminded of other ideas and thoughts that faded with time. Not forgotten just treading water until that one question comes along, that one watery path – the line in the concrete that rekindles the imagination and like a lit match in “Lawrence”, in one breath, takes me to a new place instantly.

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Tags: Burton and Speke, Concentration, Exploring, film, Great War, Imagination, Landscapes, Lawrence of Arabia, Messines Ridge, Mountains of the Moon, Observing History, Rivers, The Nile, Waterways