To write about our Canadian military history is not to glorify, glamorize or condone war. Nor is it to perpetuate the sentiment of rosy-cheeked young men marching off to fight the glorious battle. Instead it is to record the effects of the war years ordinary Canadians.
In 1914 the Canadian Corps were little more then a collection of civilians in military uniform. They marched off to Armageddon with only six weeks of training, carrying rifles that jammed when they needed the most. They faced rats, lice, thigh-deep mud, an infectious disease. They were shot at, bombed and attacked with poisonous gas. For the first time in their lives, they both witnessed and were responsible for death. The final death toll for the First World War was over 13 million people. Canadians lost one in 10 men who served. Despite the odds, the Canadian Corps prove themselves to be an essential fighting unit that demonstrated their worth on many occasions. The Canadian Battalions played fundamental roles at the Battle of Ypres, the Battle of the Somme and the Battles at Vimy Ridge. On November 11 at 11a.m., World War I was over. It would end with soldiers from the Royal Highlanders of Canada, and the Royal Canadian Regiment entering the very town where the British Army first met with the Germans in 1914.
To ensure that we would not forget those who did not return home from the war cenotaphs were built. The names of the dead veterans were inscribed on monuments in many villages, towns and cities. When E.P. Taylor wrote, "The Unknown Soldier was the hero of the first world war. He has vanished except as a cipher, from the written records"; he was partially correct. The Unknown Soldier was indeed the hero of World War I, however he has not vanished. The Unknown Soldier lies waiting to be discovered in the diaries, letters, photographs, and newspaper clippings we have stored away for safekeeping. We only need to dig deep enough to bring their names tonight once again. The men on our cenotaph deserve to be remembered every November 11, as do all the victims of every war.
Members of the Bowen Island Legion, Branch 150, built our Cenotaph in 1937. Although the early records from the Legion are missing, community involvement and archival research has helped to reconstruct the lives of the five men listed on our cenotaph. We do know that William Linklater, Cameron Smith's uncle, built the form for the Cenotaph out of an old army cot. James Collins, along with other community members mixed the concrete. Cal Frost recalled, as a young boy, throwing two pennies into the concrete as it was being poured. On June 14, 1937, the Vancouver Daily Province printed an article about the dedication of the Bowen Cenotaph. The ceremony was headed by Col. Victor Spencer and attended by nearly 100 of "Spencer's Remnants". They planted an evergreen at each corner of the monument.While the evergreens have disappeared the Cenotaph remains as a monument that allows for public expressions of grief and reflection. The monument serves today, as it did in the past, as a public place to pay tribute to those whose lives have been cut short.
During the First World War, family and friends must have waited anxiously for the mail, hoping that today would not be the day when the dreaded telegram would arrive. Imagine the joy that Charles Redman's mother must have felt when she received the following letter from her son. "Dear mother you will know that I came through, for I cabled, and also that Fraser did. I hope you understood to let Mrs. Fraser know. The Germans broke through and we charged them (the 18th and the 16th battalions together on the left), and done them out of the trench and through the woods, holding them there all day and most of the night. How anyone came out it is a miracle. The gunfight was awful. They attacked us on our right and the 48th and the 5th Royals held them back. The whole Canadian division was in action and we held them until the British division came up. The 10th Canadian Battalion fired its last shots at 200 yards, point-blank at the Germans before they retired. The battle lasted a week and is still going on, but not so vigorously. They say that this was the worst battle of the war. Anyway, I don't want to see another like it. Our drafts arrived from England and I expect that we should have a rest soon to refit. I have been sick for the last three days. I think it must have been the gas used by the Germans. I have been back with the transport, but I'm now nearly recovered, so soon will join the boys again. You will see by the papers that we have much to be thankful for. Tell Mrs. Harvey I received your parcel a few hours before we started into action and we ate the contents (chocolates) sitting on the canal and very nice they were. The weather here is lovely, which is a good thing for the wounded. Tell the boys to list. We need them, as a casualties are enormous and the Germans have lots of men, food and guns, despite what the papers say."
Frances Dalrymple Redmond received this letter dated April 30, 1915. The letter was printed in the Daily Province on Thursday, May 20, 1915. Charles Redman died the following day. The gas that Charles Redman described was a deadly chlorine gas, heavier than air, designed to invade the trenches and dugouts. The Germans avoided using the gas cylinders until April because the winds were blowing in the wrong direction. On April 22, 1915, near Ypres in Belgium, two greenish-yellow clouds rose from behind the German lines, merged and rolled forward towards the front lines. This gas immobilized the men who had no protection from the lung searing fumes. This left four miles of defense abandoned and allowed the German troops to advance over Pilken Ridge, past Langemark and Kitchener's Woods toward Ypres.The 10th Battalion from Alberta and the 16th Canadian Scottish Battalion from British Columbia were ordered to retake the Kitchener's Woods that Charles mentioned in his letter. At 11:30 PM on April 24th, 1,500 Canadians attempted to retake this area and failed. By dawn, only 500 or so men returned. The rest were either dead or captured. It is little wonder that Charles Redmond hoped he would never see another battle like it.
Major John McRae, a medical officer, treated the wounded at Ypres. In between treating the injured soldiers, he managed to scribble some verses on a scrap piece of paper. Every year school children rehearse his prose in preparation for Remembrance Day ceremonies.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Perhaps Major John McRae treated Lewen Tugwell, of the 7th Battalion, at the Battle of Ypres. Lewen Tugwell was listed as wounded and presumed missing April 24, 1915. He died as a result of his wounds May 15th, 1915 at the age of 22. He was buried in Belgium at the Ypres Memorial Cemetery. Lewen Tugwell was born at Oxford, England and was the son of an Anglican Rector. Although he is listed on our cenotaph we have not yet discovered Lewen's connection to Bowen Island.
Charles Redman died on May 21, 1915 he was most likely wounded at the Battle of Festubert since he was buried in the Hinges Military Cemetery in France. Charles Redmond was a real estate developer who helped subdivide lots around the Scarborough area. At the age of 40, Charles was the oldest Bowen islander to die in World War I.
Miles Green was very young when he died. He enlisted at the age of 18, not long out of school. He was the son of Robert and Matilda Green (nee Horne). The Green family was a large, hard-working family who lived on the property that is now Camp Bow-Isle. Miles joined up with the seventh Battalion at the beginning of the war. Miles died as a result of the wounds April 10, 1916 at the age of 20. Both his parents predeceased him. Miles was buried in Belgium at the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery.
Cameron Linklater Smith would be the next young man from Bowen to die in the war. Prior to 1901, Cameron Smith moved with his parents, Herbert and Margaret Smith (nee Linklater), to Bowen. He was the only son, and the third oldest of six children. Cameron was remembered as an outstanding long-distance runner. He participated in numerous long distance races, won the Goldseal and B.C. Open in 1912, the Winnipeg race in 1913, and numerous other trophies and medals. Margaret Fougberg (nee Collins), remembered Cameron as a kind uncle who left behind money for Christmas gifts for his sisters children before he went overseas. It was Margaret who delivered the telegram that announced Cameron's death. He was killed in action April 9, 1917 at Vimy Ridge.
The majority of the Canadian Battalions spent the winter and spring of 1917 at Vimy Ridge. When the Canadians arrived in the late 1916, Vimy Ridge was a relatively quiet place to be stationed. Earlier attempts to take the ridge had cost the French 150,000 casualties in 1915, and the British 50,000 casualties in 1916. The Canadians did not sit idle. Men from all four Canadian divisions were united for the first time to prepare for battle. The Canadians spent the months prior to the initial attack digging tunnels from the rear to the frontline. Some of the tunnels extended as far as the craters in no man's land. They spent the six weeks prior to the battle of Vimy Ridge in strenuous preparation, rehearsing every detail of the planned attack. At 5:30 a.m. on April 9th, all four Canadian divisions in line on a four-mile front opened fire on the German lines. The first, second and third Canadian division achieved their goal on the first day. The fourth Canadian division captured Hill 145 the following day. On April 12, the final knoll was taken and the entire Vimy Ridge belong to the Canadians. Victory did not come without heavy loss. The Canadians suffered 10,602 casualties. It was here on April 9, 1917 that Cameron Linklater Smith. At the age of 29, became a Vimy Ridge statistic.
Although the number of casualties was astounding, the battle of Vimy Ridge gave the Canadian Corps an opportunity to prove themselves as more than just civilians in military garb. At this time, the population of Canada was just over 7 million people with equal proportions of native-born and foreign-born inhabitants. There were only four major cities with populations of more than 100,000 people. The rest of the population live in isolated pockets in the countryside. Canada was a country divided by geography, heritage and politics. The battle of Vimy Ridge saw immigrants and native-born Canadians, from all parts of Canada, fighting shoulder to shoulder for a common goal. Their military achievement formed a national bond that helps define the Canadian identity.
Norman Vickery of the 43rd Battalion died towards the end of the war. The 43rd Battalion was raised in Winnipeg in 1915 and served overseas in the 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 3rdCanadian division. Norman Vickery's name is one of the 11,285 names of Canadian soldiers found on the base of the Vimy Ridge Memorial who were listed as "Missing and presumed dead". These soldiers disappeared in the chaos of war and their bodies were never found. In 1922, France ceded to the Canadians in perpetuity 250 acres at Hill 145. The white stone monument now stands above the old shell craters on Vimy Ridge.
On the Bowen Island cenotaph, Norman Vickery's name is one of the five men who left our island never to return. When Norman lived on Bowen, he ran the Davies general store with his partner Mr. Walsh in 1912.The cenotaph is a public monument dedicated to those who lost their lives in war and are buried elsewhere. It stands to remind us of how war irrevocably alters the lives of everyone involved. Our Cenotaph is a valuable reminder of our history, our culture, and ultimately our own personal responsibility to preserve our heritage. While we may never discover what brought Lewen Tugwell to our island, there are countless others who have played a vital role in our community and have disappeared from our records. They too lie waiting to be rediscovered.
Cathy Bayly is the curator at the Bowen Island Museum and Archives
