World War Wednesdays: Profile of a Hero: Lt.-Col. George Harold Baker

     We've been a bit WWII-heavy the past few weeks, so I thought it might be nice to add in a bit of First World War heroism this week! Lt.-Col. George Harold Baker was Canada's only Member of Parliament to have been killed in the First World War, over a hundred years ago.

     Baker was born in 1877 in the town of Sweetsburg in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. His family were United Empire Loyalists and were prominent in the area's political sphere. At the time of his birth, his father, The Hon. George Barnard Baker, had already served in the Quebec National Assembly and been elected three times as the Member of Parliament for Missisquoi, Quebec. George Sr. was later called to the Senate in 1896 and served as a Senator until his death in 1910.

     The younger Baker, whose friends called him 'Harry,' followed in his father's footsteps in pursuing a career in law, establishing a successful practice with his father first in Sweetsburg then in Montreal. In 1911 he was elected as a Conservative MP for Brome, Quebec. In addition to his interests in law and politics, Harry assumed an active role in various militia regiments in the region, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel of the 13th Scottish Light Dragoons in 1913.

Morning Glory

     At the time, Harry owned a horse called Morning Glory, which he kept at a farm in Brome and used for practicing charges and shooting from the saddle with his men when they were on maneuvers. When war broke out, Harry volunteered for active service and retained his seat in the House of Commons. Shortly afterwards, he was given the authority to raise the 5th Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles, a unit comprised of volunteers from the Eastern Townships. When they left for England in 1915, and later that same year to France, Morning Glory was along for the ride. The pair were separated when Harry and his men were reclassified as infantry and sent to the trenches, but Morning Glory was able to escape the fate of so many horses used to drag heavy guns through the mud. She caught the eye of a battalion commander who took her for his personal mount, and Harry even got to see her from time to time. He even mentioned her in a letter home from Belgium in May 1916:
     "I saw Morning Glory day before yesterday; she is in the pink of condition. I hope some day to have her back."

     Sadly, this was the last time Harry ever saw Morning Glory. He was killed around 8:30 p.m. on 2 June, 1916 at Maple Copse in Sanctuary Wood during the Battle of Ypres. 

     At the time, he was planning a leave in London to meet his two sisters who were coming over to visit from Canada. He even had his hotel booked, which he mentioned in letters to the relatives of soldiers who had died under his command while offering to meet with them to offer his condolences. 

     In February 1924, a monument in tribute to Lt.-Col. Baker was unveiled in the Center Block of Parliament by Governor General Lord Byng. The Baker Memorial is dedicated to one man, but it personifies the nation's loss and the spirit of those who served. As for Morning Glory, she returned to Canada at the end of the war and you can read the rest of her story here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/morning-glory-canada-s-own-wwi-war-horse-1.1259736
You can also read more about the Baker Memorial here: http://www.parl.gc.ca/about/house/collections/collection_profiles/CP_Baker-e.htm

     References for this post come from The House of Commons Heritage Collection and CBC's "Morning Golry: Canada's Own WWI War Horse".
     Thanks for reading,
Delany (@DLeitchHistory on Twitter)

World War Wednesdays: Winston Churchill in Ottawa, Caught on Camera

     A special piece for all my Ottawa readers this week, or really anyone who can appreciate a good post about our nation's capital (and one of the best figures of modern history).

     This past Saturday I had the opportunity to visit the City of Ottawa Archives in Nepean, which is a  fancy new facility that holds multiple stories' worth of the city's history. Since the visit was part of an exciting research project with the Bytown Museum (where I'm a member of their Youth Council) I was supposed to be focused on the task at hand, but of course being in such a snazzy archives really made my brain and eyes start to wander! In the process, I stumbled upon a collection of photographs showing some infamous wartime leaders during their visits to Ottawa, and they really got my attention. It was fascinating to see the people I spend so much time studying be standing at or near such dear and familiar places!

     Since I didn't want to be that person and make a big deal of requesting those photos from the archivists during our consultation, I decided to look into finding the photos online to share with you this week with a specific focus on the visits from Winston Churchill. In the process, I came across even more interesting material, which really helped to shape what I hope is an engaging post!

     First, here are some of the photographs:

Churchill and Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King leaving the House of Commons on December 30, 1941. Library and Archives Canada

Churchill and Mackenzie King coming down the steps at Centre Block, December 30, 1941. Library and Archives Canada

Churchill addressing the House of Commons, 30 December, 1941. Library and Archives Canada

Churchill and King at King's beloved Moorside, Gatineau, 14 August 1929. Library and Archives Canada

Churchill addressing an attentive audience in the House of Commons, December 30, 1941. Library and Archives Canada

     An interesting anecdote for those of you who read my post about my visit to Laurier House two weeks ago: a colleague was telling me that once, during a visit to Mackenzie King at Laurier House, Churchill discovered the concealed elevator and expressed an interest in taking it for a ride. King protested, telling him he was far too large and would break it, but Churchill persisted and eventually just jumped in. If that doesn't give you an indication of their relationship, I don't know what would! They were so similar in so many ways, but differed in a lot of the important ones. In any case, their encounters would have been memorable experiences for both of them.

"Roaring Lion," Yousef Karsh,  Library and Archives Canada

     Chris Cobb, The Ottawa Citizen, December 30, 2011:
"When I warned them that Britain would fight on alone whatever they did, their generals told their Prime Minister and his divided Cabinet, 'In three weeks England will have her neck wrung like a chicken.' Some chicken! Some neck!" — Winston Churchill, Ottawa, Dec. 30, 1941

Look closely at the Karsh portrait of Winston Churchill and it's there, peeking from his left hand jacket pocket — a bunch of papers, partially concealed at the request of a photographer.

Some bunch of papers. Some photographer.

Seventy years ago Friday — on Dec. 30, 1941 — Britain's wartime prime minister delivered his historic speech to a hastily assembled group of Canadian MPs and Senators.

The 22-page speech, captured on a news reel, lasted 37 minutes and was constantly interrupted by cheers and applause.

After a scotch and water in the Speaker's chambers, Churchill reluctantly agreed to pose for the iconic scowling portrait taken by the talented but then relatively obscure Ottawa society photographer Yousuf Karsh.

"Some chicken, some neck" was a reference to the sneering comment by French Marshal Philippe Pétain, future leader of the collaborationist Vichy French government who was convinced that Germany would successfully invade Britain as it had done France. He told Churchill that in three weeks Britain would "have its neck wrung like a chicken."

"There is something about the phrase 'some chicken, some neck' that is utterly charming," says Ottawa Churchill scholar Ronald Cohen. "Churchill was a superb orator and his oratory played such a major role in keeping spirits alive and keeping the British confident in the fact that they could withstand whatever it was they had to meet.

"He put a considerable amount of time into writing his speeches and when this was done, he knew he had delivered a speech of historical significance. You could tell that."

After the speech, Churchill and Prime Minister Mackenzie King retired to the Speaker's chambers where King drank tea and Churchill his scotch.

King had chosen Karsh to take the photograph but hadn't told Churchill, even though the two had been in Washington together that same week.

Karsh had prepared his lights and camera and was waiting in another room while King asked Churchill to pose for a photograph. Churchill reluctantly agreed to "five minutes" and walked into the room with a cigar in his mouth.

Buoyed by the success of his speech and fortified by his favourite Johnnie Walker Red Label, Churchill was in a jovial mood.

---

"But Karsh, to his immense credit, felt his mood wasn't right to portray this lion of the west," says Cohen. "He wanted to get a better look from him. I don't think he intended the scowl by pulling the cigar away, but he was of the view that there were already too many photos of Churchill with a cigar."

Karsh approached Churchill and said, 'Sir, I have an ashtray all prepared for you.'

Churchill had no intention of removing the cigar from his mouth, so Karsh did it for him.

"By the time I got back to my camera," Karsh recalled years later, "he looked so belligerent he could have devoured me."

Karsh had a growing local reputation, but the scowling image of Churchill would bring him international fame and become the single most famous photographic portrait in history. (Library and Archives Canada has six negatives from the session — one of the 'scowl', one of Churchill smiling, three of Mackenzie King and Churchill together and another with Churchill's back to the camera while his cigar is being lit by another person, probably Speaker James Glenn.)

King was delighted with the image and sent three copies to Churchill with a letter dated Jan. 9, 1942:

"I think that you will agree that the photograph is one of the best, if not the very best, ever taken of yourself. I, at least, am so inclined to view it."

King wrote Churchill that he could keep one copy for himself, present a second to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and asked that he enscribe another to King himself and return it to Ottawa

There is, says Cohen, no record of Churchill's opinion of the portrait.

Churchill decided to take the potentially perilous journey to North America on Dec. 8, 1941, the day after Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor. He dismissed security concerns, especially about the return journey once German military commanders knew he would be travelling home. (The RAF flew him back to the U.K. from Canada).

He left London for Scotland on Dec. 12, 1941, boarded the battleship Duke of York and began the 10-day trip across the Atlantic.

When the boat arrived in U.S. territorial waters, Churchill wrote to his wife, Clementine.

"I feel I ought to go to Canada while I am over this side, but I do not quite know when or how I shall come back. I shall certainly stay long enough to do all that has to be done, having come all this way that so much trouble and expense."

Churchill spoke to the U.S. Congress on Dec. 26, four days after Roosevelt had telephoned Mackenzie King, who recorded details of the deliberately vague conversation in his diary.

"You probably know about a certain person who is on his way," said Roosevelt. "He will be arriving in about two hours' time. I will want you here while he is here. I will be having a talk with him tonight, and will let you know just as soon as I can, the exact time to come down." King left Ottawa on an overnight train on Christmas Day and arrived in Washington on Boxing Day. Churchill and King, two very different characters who had a cordial though not an especially warm relationship, took the same train back to Ottawa two days later but travelled in separate carriages.

King wrote that he tried to persuade Churchill to speak to an audience at the Château Laurier, but Churchill said the House of Commons would be "more dignified" and, to spread his message worldwide, asked that the proceedings be filmed and well-attended by the press.

Meanwhile, Karsh was busily preparing for his brief encounter with the British leader and the defining photograph of both of their lives."

     John G. Plumpton (WinstonChurchill.org) describes Churchill's December 1941 visit to Ottawa
"After the photo shoot came a small, informal dinner party hosted by Prime Minister King. Here Churchill had an opportunity to swap stories with Canadian Air Vice-Marshal Billy Bishop VC, who had shot down seventy-two enemy aircraft while serving with the Royal Flying Corps during World War I."

    If you're interested in reading more about Churchill's long relationship with Canada and its citizens, I highly recommend visiting the full entry, "As They Saw Him: Encounters with Canadians 1900-1955": http://www.winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-154/as-they-saw-him-encounters-with-canadians-1900-1955

     Watch the "Some Chicken, Some Neck" moment here: https://youtu.be/XyoY6UzWLEo

   I hope you enjoyed this indulgence of my affection for Winston Churchill, and that you recognize some of the scenery in the photographs. Sometimes it can be so easy to get bogged down in historical analysis and the fine details and forget that these are real people and events which took place in locations that are still very much a part of our lives, and I like to reinforce these reminders of the human element that goes along with history.
     Thanks for reading,
Delany (@DLeitchHistory on Twitter)
 

World War Wednesdays: the Battle of Britain 75th Anniversary Ceremony, Ottawa

 

      A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about the anniversary of the start of the Battle of Britain, a major  Second World War air battle between the British Royal Air Force and German Luftwaffe during the summer and autumn of 1940. The official date for recognition of the battle this year was September 20, 2015, also known as Battle of Britain Sunday. To mark the occasion, a ceremony was held on Parliament Hill, Ottawa, to commemorate this significant event in our history. I was very fortunate to have attended the ceremony, and wanted to share some of the highlights with you this week! (If the videos do not work automatically, there are links below to where I uploaded them on YouTube).

     One of the main highlights of the ceremony was the presence of two reproduction planes which were parked on the lawn in front of centre block so that people could see up close the aircraft involved in the battle. On the left in the photo is the Supermarine Spitfire, and on the right is a Hawker Hurricane. The Spitfire has become the symbol of the Battle of Britain, and the Hurricane proved a strong example of Britain's defiance against the seemingly unstoppable British advance.

Another view of the Spitfire

The Hawker Hurricane

The Spitfire in front of the Peace Tower

The Hurricane in front of the Peace Tower

    Before the ceremony, the bells in the Peace Tower had been programmed to chime the tunes of popular British WWII songs such as Vera Lynn's "When the Lights Go On Again" and "The White Cliffs of Dover". I'm not sure if you'll be able to hear them in the video, but I captured the main tune to "When the Lights Go On Again".

https://youtu.be/Ag5LDFhnOoE

    The flag on the Peace Tower was also changed for the occasion to that of the Governor General of Canada's to signify his presence.

     
     The ceremony itself was very moving, as it incorporated some of the traditional sombre elements of ceremonial remembrance along with aspects more specific to the event, including quotes from Winston Churchill and some of the airmen involved in the battle. A poem by Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr., a member of the No. 412 Squadron, RCAF who was killed in December of 1941, was read, which was particularly emotional.

     The ceremony culminated in a truly rare and remarkable sight-- flypasts from Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft past and present. I was lucky enough to capture them from the perfect spot, on what was a perfect day to be looking at the sky.

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsmq-nrCqRg&feature=youtu.be

     In the centre is the Avro Lancaster bomber. The other planes are: a Curtiss P-40-N Kittyhawk, a Robillard Brothers North American Mustang IV (P-51 in the USA), a Hawker Hurricane Mk IV, and a Supermarine Spitfire XVI, all courtesy of Vintage Wings of Canada.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bZEgVFszJE&feature=youtu.be    

     The larger helicopter in the center is a CH-147F Chinook, and the other two are CH-146 Griffons.

https://youtu.be/XNv0vA3iekI

    A CC-117 plane.

https://youtu.be/FC2JirA2CPw

     A CC-150 Polaris and two CF-18 Hornets.

https://youtu.be/r6Ab1v4L0To

     And finally, the Canadian Forces Snowbirds flew the "missing man" formation to honour those who passed away in service of their country. You'll see the one aircraft depart from the group in a salute to the brave men and women who served during the Battle of Britain. 

Canada's Commander-in-Chief, His Excellency the Right Honorable David Johnston looks on as the Snowbirds emerge,  courtesy of Rideau Hall. 

     As seen in the pictures, it could  not have been a better day to honour this remarkable event. It was amazing to witness these aircraft in person, and I certainly will never forget it.

Thanks for reading, 

      Delany