90 Years on ...I remember my first trip to Vimy Ridge. I can clearly recall the sound of my heart beating as we quietly walked along the Visitor's Pathway that approaches the back of Allward's Memorial.
As we walked through the light mist of mid-morning, we were struck by the little sign half-way up the pathway that read:
Silence - Respect
My eyes began to well-up upon seeing this, as my head and heart were overwhelmed by feelings of awe. Awe that we still cared so many years after the fact, and awed by the fact that we would have to remind others to show respect for the fallen in commanding such quietude.
The first thing that strikes you about the Memorial is its sheer scale. The only thing that exceeds it on the Western Front is the British Empire Memorial to the Missing at Thiepval (on The Somme).
There is an eerie Majesty to the structure that renders one speechless - all the more when you reach the front of the Memorial and see just how high-up the Ridge actually is/was. You realise then, just how magnificent an accomplishment this dearly-paid-for Victory was. You certainly then appreciate just how hard it was for the French and British forces to crack this particular stronghold.
Having said that, we must remember that while this was primarily a Canadian Victory, there was also a sizeable British contingent that fought alongside us on that fateful Monday in 1917. We should never forget that this was an Imperial effort and that we fought with English, Scots, Irish, Welsh, Australians, New Zealanders, Indians and Chinese in a most real "Band of Brothers."
Like millions of others, I will be watching the 90th Anniversary Observances on Monday, April 9th. Not only will this take me back to my times on the Ridge, it will take me back to my tour of the Underground Tunnels beneath the Ridge (the existence, size, and scope of which most Canadians know nothing ...), and to the walk around the Ridge where portions of Trenches are still preserved - and of my tour around the Park where one can still see the lunar surface that represents the damage caused by the fearful artillery barrage on that day. All of this reminds one not just of the great victory, but more still of the tragedy and heroism that was fully exemplified on a minute-to-minute basis during the Great War.
Mostly, I will remember finding the grave (Canadian Cemetery #2) of a long-lost Family member who died on the Ridge on Easter Monday, 1917. As I recited Binyon's memoriam verse my eyes filled with tears, and my Wife put her arm around me. It was here that I reaffirmed my commitment to never forget these men, their sense of honour, and most importantly - their sacrifice.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
(... from Laurence Binyon's For the Fallen.)
posted by Aeneas the Younger @ 3:59 pm
10 Comments
10 Comments:
Well said! It's too bad your friend, RT, and his merry band find these kind of thoughts so distasteful.
mac:
Never forget that most of these folks are Liberals.
Red himself has no problem with the sentiments, but is anti-war in a way I find admirable - but unrealistic.
Never forget Mac, that I AM a tory - but that it is my very (Canadian) Conservatism that prevents me from supporting the CPC with my Vote.
I know that there are all kinds of decent tories in the CPC, but unfortunately they are voting for a label, rather than for their true tradition.
My real problem is the under-35 wahoos in the CPC who don't even know, or totally disrespect the traditions of the Tory Party and its great leaders.
The ones that prefer Reagan and Bush to Macdonald or Borden simply make me ill.
Aeneas...ah, it's the determiniation of the necessity of war that is the real trick, isn't it?
In school 7 years of history classes were devoted for the most part (as I remember anyway)encompassed the 1800's up to 1933.
WWI was presented as a litany of treaties and especially economics--tons of shipping lost and especially of the millions of shells expended and the tens nad ultimately hundreds of thousands killed at Ypres, Mons, Verdun, Vimy etc, and then the staggering reparations demanded of the Germans (not without cause by any means, but not very practical either).
Less explored in our lessons was the connection or disconnection between the causes of the war and the willingness of citizens to fight.
Conservatism seems to me to be at the root of WWI--an anarchist's attack on a royal triggered protocols determined by various ruling classes that had to be honored. In essence WWI was a battle royal about the maintenance of royal supremacy. But the results were not what was expected--even those who fought for king and country and empire and the status-quo initially, were forced to question their own world-view in the aftermath. WW II was in part a conlfict that addressed much of the unfinished business of WWI (and raised new issues in place of those it apparently resolved).
But in the context of honorable military service it is extraordinary to me the lack of recongnition that Canaduians recieve--despite or perhaps because of Canada's non-aggressive posture in general.
I don't know of an instance where the Canadian military hasn't done less than expected of them, indeed I can't think of an instance where they haven't done more than expected.
To both you and Mac I have to say being a liberal doesn;t make me anti-war, rather the realities and consequences of war make me a "liberal". And for every soldier you can find who thinks war is the solution, you will find a sociopath and there are ten times as many soldiers who wil tell you that war is a temporary and entirely expedient action.
It's not the fight that matters in the long run, it's the follow-up.
But when battle is engaged, the battle matters and the those who fight and die should be remembered for their efforts. The essential role of a soldier is to fight for a greater cause with noble intent, and Canadians have done so without fail.
OH, and don't forget, Mac and Aeneas, a number of US liberals were considering emigrating to Canada in 2004, on account of your nation's more balanced political perspective.
Okay, I'm done for now. :D
Great post, Aeneas.
5E:
You may be a liberal in the American context, but I am not sure yet (as I haven't the good fortune to get to know you better yet ...) what you would qualify as in Canada.
I do not like Bushco and hardly consider them Conservative. Churchill, MacMillan, Butler, Heath - yes! Cameron is impressing me so far.
Lady Thatcher was that curious beast I call a "Conservative-Liberal."
I am sure CONSERVATISM does not exist in the USA.
I hate War. But as a last resort, it is necessary at times. Iraq was not necessary. At all.
I don't accept your Great War thesis to any extent, except to agree that there were strong Culturally-Conservative forces in positions of power all over Europe in 1914.
The British Empire was following its historic policy of denying hegemony to any one Power in Europe. We were also standing-up to the provision of the Treaty of London (1839) as regards Belgium.
The inability of Asquith to assert control over the Generals, contributed mightily to the weakening of Imperial Bonds in the first half of the War.
Just how strained those bonds were is a matter of debate, as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the rest of the Empire rallied to King's Colours again in 1939. Without reservation.
In my opinion, what really destroyed the close relationship was FDR's deliberate policy of bankrupting Great Britain - which forced her Imperial Trading Partners into Trade Dependancy with the USA.
My Great War "thesis"...yes that statement was simplistic. It looks like I'm blaming the political philosphy of conservatism for WWI which wasn't my intent--it was just an aspect that colored some decisions (I know that isn't very insighful of me :D)--and certainly post-war the old "conservative rule" was increasingly questioned.
There's an element of the ridiculous in how the honoring of the various treaties escalated everything, though when the US entered WWII things were even more absurd...did you know Andorra declared war on Germany and didn't revers its position unitl umm.....1968 I think? That's some serious commitment!
Thatcher snatched my milk! I remember it well. Funnily enough I voted for her ( my first ever vote)..because of her pragmatic attitude which the UK really needed at the time ( she totally lost the plot on her third term though--it seems to happen to them all :D).
When I first arrived in the US (1982) it gave me no end of amusement to hear Republicans describe Democrats as "socialists"...they looked nothing like the Labour party of Harold Wilson, and there didn't seem to be any equivalent of Neill Kinnock or Arthur Scargill.
I'm not really sure what is meant by conservative and liberal in political terms really, they seem to be mutually dependent easily manipulated terms.
As far as the collapse of the Empire and GB's post-war alignment with the US, I've no informed opinion as yet...that's something I should look into. Certainly the US had reason and opportunity to take advantage.
Oh yes.. I'm currently reading "To Rule The Waves" by Arthur Herman. It's a history of the Royal Navy from the 1500's to the Falklands, as an instrument of policy and as an influence on policy too. It is actually as much a study of politics, trade and economics as anything else and if you haven't read it already I'd recommend it.
Hello --
I think you've confirmed my thesis, that `Red Tories' know all about what they are against (Bush, Reagan) but nothing of what they are for...
And don't say because I haven't read the Seventh Lord of Shatsbury, that I don't know what I'm talking about.
Roundhead
I also remember my first trip to Vimy Ridge. I wiped a bogger on that statue.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Roundhead:
With your "booger" comment out here for all to see, I permanently wash my hands of you.
You are a waste of skin.
You have proven nothing.
I ignore you out of contempt.
A bogger? Is that really relevant? Some people are some kind of proud to ignore what happened during WWI and WWII. For myself, the family lost a great-great cousin in Vimy Ridge. And I have no objection with the Red Ensign! That was our flag during that time. It's historical flag... and I just love red ensigns!
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home