In this week of remembrance, may we learn from war as we strive for peace … and freedom and democracy and equality and justice.
Peace Tower, Ottawa
Monday Monuments and Memorials –Cathedral of Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais, Soissons, France
Parishioners and parish are remembered alike on stone tablets in Soissons Cathedral.
A 1926 tablet designed by Louis Barillet lists 351 names of parishioners who died in WW1.
Souvenez vous dans vos prières des enfants de la paroisse de la cathédrale de Soissons, morts pour le France. 1914-1918
(translation: Remember in your prayers the children of the parish of Soissons Cathedral who died for France. 1914-1918)
A second tablet marks the reconstruction of the cathedral, which was severely damaged in the war.
Le 26 avril 1931, fut rendue au culte la nef reconstruite de la cathédrale de Soissons en partie détruite par la guerre 1914-1918. M. Paul Léon étant directeur général des beaux-arts, Monseigneur EV Mennechet évêque de Soissons, Laon et Saint-Quentin, M. Émile Brunet, architecte en chef du monument. Le 24 Octobre 1937 la tour sud en partie reconstruite fut inaugurée par M Georges Huisman, directeur général des beaux-arts.
(translation: On 26 April 1931, the rebuilt nave of Soissons Cathedral, which was partly destroyed in the 1914-1918 war, was returned to worship. Mr Paul Léon, Director General of Fine Arts, Monsignor EV Mennechet, Bishop of Soissons, Laon and Saint-Quentin, Mr Émile Brunet, chief architect of the monument. On 24 October 1937, the partly rebuilt south tower was inaugurated by Mr Georges Huisman, Director General of Fine Arts.)
A Commonwealth memorial tablet is also hung in the Cathedral.
I’ve been on a break from GreatWar100Reads for the past few months, back now to posting new material on a more regular schedule. Thanks to all of you who have visited in the interim and welcome to new followers. Apologies for the delay in responding to inquiries. I’m almost caught up.
Monday Monuments and Memorials – Cenotaph, Elora ON
On MacDonald Square in Elora, in front of the municipal offices where Wellington Rd 18 meets Geddes St, stands a granite cenotaph “dedicated to the memory of the men of Elora who died in the Great War.”
Front and back, a wreath of maple leaves surrounds the years 1914-1918, over a cross (for sacrifice) and crusaders’ swords (representing a fight for a just cause). In Memorium tops the front. On each side, battles are listed along with the names of The Glorious Dead.
Continue readingMonday Monuments and Memorials – Memorial Plaque, Dentistry, McGill University, Montreal
According to McGill University records, the first Canadian dentists to go overseas in WW1 were with No. 3 Canadian General Hospital (McGill), which was organized in McGill in early 1915. A plaque in memory of three graduates who died on active service in WW1 is on the main floor of the Strathcona Building on the McGill campus, 3640 rue University.
Continue readingMonday Monuments and Memorials – St Luke’s Anglican Church, Ottawa
A church built in 1904 to house a parish that has served the community for 150 years remembers its parishioners who served the country in WW1. St Luke’s Anglican Church is at 760 Somerset St W in Ottawa.
A brass plaque is dedicated “in loving memory of the men of St Luke’s Parish who gave their lives in the Great War.” Twenty names are listed: Frederick W Beer, Percy R Cooper, John H Cummings, John J Dwyer, Herby W Fregin, Harry K Graham, William J Gallichan, Thomas B Giles, Samuel T Greenway, James T Greenway, G Harvey, William Hellier, Henry Kerr, Edmund H Milks, William H Shapter, Frederick C Sparks, Frederick G Thomas, James E Thomas, George M Tyrell and Percy N Wigmore.
Continue readingMonday Monuments and Memorials – Peace Tower, Parliament Hill, Ottawa
We were preparing not Peace only, but Eternal Peace. There was about us the halo of some divine mission. We must be alert, stern, righteous and ascetic. We were bent on doing great, permanent noble things.
Harold Nicolson, British delegate to 1919 Paris peace conference
Continue readingThis is not a peace treaty, it is an armistice for 20 years.
Marshal Ferdinand Foch, at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, 1919
The Alice Network
To tell the truth, much of this special work we do is quite boring. I think that’s why women are good at it. Our lives are already boring. (p 83)
Intelligence: knowing where the enemy is, what they are doing, what they are planning, what they are capable of. Information that gives a tactical advantage in war. One source of intelligence: unobtrusive eyes and ears. Add language skills to understand and code messages. Fine motor skills to write those messages in tiny letters or to pick locks. The people you would least expect. Women.
The true story of WW1 spy Louise de Bettignies is the launching pad for Kate Quinn’s novel, The Alice Network. Codenamed Alice Dubois (and nicknamed Lili in the novel), the “queen of spies” and her covert network worked behind German lines in northern France and Belgium. The information they passed to the British is credited with saving over 1000 lives. A message about the possibility of a German attack at Verdun planned for early 1916 was unfortunately not believed by the French military authorities. de Bettignies was arrested in October 1915 and died in prison in September 1918.
Continue readingMonday Monuments and Memorials – Nursing Sisters window, Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver
A window on the west wall of Christ Church Cathedral, at the corner of Burrard and Georgia Streets in Vancouver, is dedicated “to the Nursing Sisters of Vancouver in both war and peace.” The window was made by Abbot & Co Ltd, Lancaster, England. It was dedicated at a special service held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Canadian Nurses Association on Sunday 25 June 1950.
Continue readingMonday Monuments and Memorials – Memorial Plaque, Mount Royal Club, Montreal
The Mount Royal Club is a private club at 1175 Sherbrooke St W in Montreal. In the staircase, a bronze plaque memorializes 15 men who died in WW1 – one assumes Club members or their sons.
Continue readingMonday Monuments and Memorials – London redux
Today, many people around the world turn to London and pause to remember Queen Elizabeth II as she is laid to rest. Great War 100 Reads revisits three WW1 monuments in London that have been featured here over the years. Click on each heading to read more.
Royal Artillery Memorial
Imperial Camel Corps Memorial
Edith Cavell Memorial
Great War 100 Reads 