World War Wednesdays: Historical Randomness and Updates

"A Bridge in Tyrconnell," unidentified children, ca. 1900 courtesy of Elgin County Archives

     Hopefully you don't mind the break from tradition too much, but I was thinking it's been a long time since I've done a good old update and and general mismatched post! There just hasn't been as much time lately for me to write a good long one thanks to exams and wrapping up my third year at uOttawa, but I'm happy to say that it's all behind me now and I've returned to the Backus-Page House for the summer. I look forward to meeting as many readers as possible and hope to see you at all the exciting events we have coming up this season! Without further ado, I've compiled a random assortment of things I've been meaning to tell you for ages now and finally have enough of to compile:

Battle of the Atlantic Sunday

Veterans awaiting the arrival of dignitaries at the Battle of the Atlantic memorial ceremony in Ottawa

     This past Sunday, May 1 was observed as the occasion commemorating the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War, which is always done during the first weekend in May. As has been mentioned in previous posts which can be found to the right, the Battle of the Atlantic was the longest engagement of WWII and lasted the war's entire duration from 1939 to 1945. The Naval Association of Canada describes the Battle as the Royal Canadian Navy's "defining moment," making it "the lifeline for democracy and the key to ultimate victory." This was due to the Navy's essential role in escorting large Merchant Navy convoys which carried vital supplies between Canada and the United Kingdom. In addition to recognizing the incredible service of the men and women involved in the Battle of the Atlantic, I would also like to highlight the experience of Atlantic Canadians and Newfoundlanders who found themselves on the edge of such a dramatic and lengthy theater of war.

Local WWI Tune that's Worth a Listen

     You're not going to want to miss out on this one, especially not if you're from the local southwestern Ontario region. If you've ignored every other YouTube link I've ever posted up until now, this number is one to change your tune! The song is called "Stammering Song" or "K-K-K-Katy," and was composed by Chatham native Geoffrey O'Hara in 1917 and published in 1918. The sheet music advertised it as "The Sensational New Stammering Song," and "The Sensational Stammering Song Success Sung by the Soldiers and Sailors." It was first played at a garden party fundraiser for the Red Cross in Collins Bay on Lake Ontario. The inspiration for the "Katy" character in the song was Katherine Craig Richardson of Kingston, Ontario (who did not stutter), a friend of O'Hara's sister whose parents recall his writing the song in their living room.
     From May 1918 to January 1919, the song was a top 20 hit, and number one from July to September. It was recorded by Billy Murray on March 8, 1918 and released on Victor 18455. The song also made a comeback during the Second World War, when WWI songs became popular at training camps and were often preferred over more modern tunes. It was one of many brought to the front by officers who had heard it while on leave in England.
     Listen for yourself here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BukkBfrVOHQ

Photo of Geoffrey O'Hara from the George Grantham Baine collection, Library of Congress

     Geoffrey O'Hara was born in Chatham, Ontario on February 2, 1882. Initially planning for a military career, he attended the prestigious Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario at age 18 and trained with the 1st Hussars. After his father's death, he abandoned that career path and moved to the United States in 1904, where he began performing in Vaudeville. In 1905, he began recording for Edison Records, later conducting the recording of traditional Indian songs for the American government. During the First World War, he was a singing instructor of patriotic songs for the American troops. "K-K-K-Katy" was his most popular work by far and one of the most notable from the war in general, and O'Hara was later commissioned by the Woodrow Wilson administration to compose the modern-day version of the Star Spangled Banner.
   
91st Battalion Anniversary Weekend
     If you've been following my posts or the Backus-Page House blog in general, you've likely seen the calls for relatives of those who fought with our local 91st Battalion during the First World War to share some information in regard to the upcoming commemorative event this summer. The official schedule for the event was released today, so I thought I'd share it so that it can be fit into the busy summer schedule:
Friday, Saturday and Sunday June 24, 25 and 26, 2016
On June 25, 1916, the 91st Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, numbering over 900 men, mostly from Elgin County and St. Thomas, marched to the MCR station on Talbot Street and departed for Halifax to fight overseas. Now exactly 100 years later the citizens of St. Thomas, the County of Elgin and the descendants of the original Battalion will again celebrate this proud moment in our history. 
Follow the 91st Battalion as we retrace their final weekend in St. Thomas!
Friday, June 24th, 2016
7-9 pm - come visit the historic encampment of the 91st Battalion set up on the grounds of the Armoury, 40 Wilson Avenue, St. Thomas. Meet with re-enactors; visit the tented camp, complete with a medical facility as it would have been in 1916. 
At sunset, 9:00 pm, plan to be at the Armoury as the re-enactors and serving members of 31 CER (The Elgins) lower the flags for the day and prepare for the evening routine. Once dark the names and stories of all 901 members of the original Battalion will be displayed on the outer wall of the Armoury – a roll call of the men who answered the call to duty 100 years ago. 
Saturday, June 25th, 2016
At 11:00, Saturday morning, the Battalion will march past City Hall on its way to the MCR station (now known as the CASO station). Be on Talbot Street to watch as the parade re-traces part of the historic march. 
Beginning at 11:30 a memorial plaque will be unveiled by descendants of the original 91st Battalion at the CASO station. Members of the community, friends and family are all welcome to attend this special event. At the conclusion of the dedication the troops will board trains, the band will play and the train will depart the station!
Join the 91st and their friends and family at a picnic at Pinafore Park. At 1:30 pm be at the band shell in the park for a 1916 picnic and music concert. Period music from the Henry Meredith Plumbing Factory Band, vintage vehicles, patriotic speeches and more! Bring a lunch and a lawn chair, no food or beverage will be provided. 
7-9 pm - come visit the historic encampment of the 91st Battalion set up on the grounds of the Armoury, 40 Wilson Avenue, St. Thomas. Meet with re-enactors; visit the tented camp, complete with a medical facility as it would have been in 1916. 
7-9 pm - Registered families and friends of the 91st Battalion will be welcomed into the recreated “Soldiers Canteen” to share stores, photographs and hear the stories of Battalion members. The Canteen, located at the Armouries is open only to registered participants. 
At sunset, 9:00 pm plan to be at the Armoury as the re-enactors and serving members of 31 CER (The Elgins) lower the flags for the day and prepare for the evening routine. Once dark the names and stories of all 901 members of the original Battalion will be displayed on the outer wall of the Armoury – a roll call of the hundreds of men who answered the call to duty 100 years ago. 
Sunday, June 26th, 2016
Trinity Anglican Church, 55 Southwick St., will again open its doors to members of the 91st Battalion as they host a memorial Church Parade and Remembrance Service starting at 10:00 am. The colours of the 91st were laid up at Trinity Anglican Church in 1935 within a chapel dedicated to the battalion and to the 173 men they lost. Everyone is welcome to the service and for a reception that will follow. 

    Well, that seems to be all I have in the mix for this week! Thanks so much for your continued interest in the Dutton letters and I'll be sure to continue with the rest of the collection in the weeks to come. 
     Thanks for reading, 
Delany (@DLeitchHistory on Twitter)

World War Wednesdays: What's Going on May 2015

     May 2015 is a major period of anniversaries related to the Second World War, which ended seventy years ago this year, and numerous ceremonies around the world are being held this week in commemoration. This week's post covers some of the highlights of the major anniversaries and provides some background information about what is being recognized and in the news lately. It is a significant time to be Canadian, as we reflect on our participation in WWII around the world, and seeing the efforts made to recognize these major contributions should make all of us as proud now as it did in 1945.

Battle of the Atlantic Sunday

Governor General David Johnston lays a wreath during the Battle of the Atlantic Sunday ceremony in Ottawa, May 3

     The first weekend in May is set aside to remember those who served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and the Canadian Merchant Navy during the Battle of the Atlantic; the longest battle of the Second World War. The Atlantic Ocean was a crucial lifeline for supply and transportation of Allied forces during the war, making it a major target for German U-Boats (submarines). Though decidedly not a theater of potential war-winning capacity for either side, the objectives for the Battle of the Atlantic were simple: the Allies needed to get as many ships as possible to and from Britain and North America in order to maintain operations in Europe and North Africa, and the Germans needed to use whatever means possible for the Allies to do so. Thus, when a German submarine torpedoed an Allied ship, a portion of the cargo headed to the forces was lost (not major in the grand scheme, but in large number could be detrimental), and similarly, when Allied ships and planes took out a German U-Boat, one potentially effective submarine was eliminated from the effort to sink cargo ships. In order to protect the important supply and troopships from the onslaught of German submarine "wolf packs", Allied ships travelled in "convoy" groups  protected by destroyers and support in the air. Also equipped with the ever-developing radar technology and air intelligence, they increasingly had the ability to detect the submarines and surprise them before a potentially lethal encounter.

A SB2U Vindicator scout bomber from USS Ranger (CV-4) flies anti-submarine patrol over Convoy WS-12, en route to Cape Town, South Africa,  November 27, 1941

An example of the convoy system

Convoy in the Bedford Basin, near Halifax, Nova Scotia, April 1, 1942.

      By 1943, it was apparent that Allied shipping was not significantly affected by the efforts of the German navy, and the Battle of the Atlantic was decidedly in the favour of the Allies. Over the course of the war, not one large troopship was ever sunk by the Germans, a major feat for the Allies. The Battle of the Atlantic is one of the most hard-won but significant Allied victories during the Second World War and involved Canadians in a major way.

The Liberation of the Netherlands

Veterans salute at the Liberation of the Netherlands ceremony

 Holten Canadian War Cemetery, near Arnhem in the Netherlands on May 4, 2015.

     An official Government of Canada delegation will mark the 70^th anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands, May 3-9, 2015 with commemorative events in that country, honouring the more than 7,600 Canadians who sacrificed their lives during the campaign.
     Due to the nature of the German onslaught in Europe, defeating the Germans meant pushing through the countries which it had occupied in order to drive them back, while simultaneously liberating the people who had been under German control. By September 1944, the Allied armies, advancing from France and Belgium, had reached the southern boundary of the German-occupied Netherlands. The first attempt to break into the Netherlands failed. The First Allied Airborne Army dropped by parachute and glider in an attempt to capture bridges across the Maas and lower Rhine rivers. American paratroops successfully took the Maas bridges, but the British 1st Airborne Division, landing near the Rhine bridge at Arnhem, was all but destroyed by a strong German force. In October and November, the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division cleared the south bank, while 2nd Canadian Infantry Division fought along the north bank. The Germans cut the dykes to let seawater flood the low-lying fields and the attackers were forced to follow narrow, fire-swept routes along the tops of dykes or to attempt amphibious assaults. After an uncomfortable winter spent patrolling through the wet Dutch countryside, the Canadians got the help of their countrymen from Italy, who advanced quickly north from the Rhine through the eastern Netherlands to the North Sea. Although the fighting was never easy, and continued nearly to the last day of the war, the German resistance collapsed from lack of supplies and manpower. In the western Netherlands, getting food to the starving Dutch population in their flooded villages was the major task. Finally, there was a ceasefire, allowing food to be dropped by parachute or trucked in. Thus, this operation meant the survival of the Dutch civilian population who had suffered major hunger and hardship under German rule. The warm friendship that Canada still enjoys with the Netherlands is a poignant reminder of the ultimate sacrifice made by thousands of Canadians and the enduring gratitude of the Dutch in ending the reign of tyranny in their country.

Canadian troops signing autographs in a liberated Dutch town

The liberation of Amsterdam

VE Day
     On 8 May 1945, both Great Britain and the United States celebrated Victory in Europe Day following the German unconditional surrender. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine. On 3 May 2015, Prime Minister Stephen Harper attended the VE Day commemoration in the Netherlands as part of the simultaneous 70th anniversary of the liberation. The eighth of May spelled the day when German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms (though not against the Russians in the east until the next day). VE Day is a significant anniversary not just for those who had witnessed the horrors of the Second World War firsthand, but for every person alive at the time. The war affected every aspect of daily life, from the food they ate to the jobs they held to their general outlook on the world and the people in it. Both in 1945 and today, it is a bittersweet occasion marked with both jubilation and somber thought for the sacrifices required from all of the Allied forces to achieve victory. As Winston Churchill said during his May 8th broadcast declaring victory, "To-day, perhaps, we shall think mostly of ourselves. To-morrow we shall pay a particular tribute to our Russian comrades, whose prowess in the field has been one of the grand contributions to the general victory". The occasion is thus a combination of all emotional extremes, a culmination of equal parts harrowing and unifying experiences, and a significant shared experience by all citizens of the victorious Allied countries.

Winston Churchill waves to crowds in Whitehall on the day he broadcast to the nation that the war with Germany had been won, 8 May 1945 (VE Day).

 

 



V-E Day celebrations, Bay Street Toronto, May 7, 1945.

V-E Day celebrations, Ottawa

     Whether or not you participate in commemorative events for these significant days in our history, one can't help but reflect on what a significance seventy years makes. We truly are a lucky country to mark these anniversaries with the gratefulness and appreciation of the nations our men and women helped to liberate, and Canadians really made a name for themselves during the war years. I remember the contributions of our local Elgin County soldiers and citizens during this bittersweet time. Who are you remembering?

Thanks for reading,
    Delany