Men Among Its Brambles

| January 27, 2013

The CEF, Barbed Wire and the Victoria Cross The Great War poet, soldier and recipient of the Military Cross, Wilfred Owen wrote, “Watching we hear the mad gusts tugging on the wire”. The phrase reminds me that during the war’s silence, eerie unto itself, the men within the trenches were conscious of every sound, every […]

Pipe Major James Groat D.C.M., M.M. and Bar

| January 1, 2013

THE NONCHALANT PIPER The pipers of the 16th Battalion C.E.F. received several awards for gallantry during the Great War. These awards included the posthumous Victoria Cross to Piper James Cleland Richardson as well as seven other pipers being awarded the Military Medal. In addition, Pipe Major James Groat received the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the […]