Remembrance***Scout Leader in need of inspiration***

Hi,

I am a new Scout leader, I want to make sure that my scouts fully understand the scarifice that was made and why it is important that we remember.

I was hoping that some of you may be willing to share a story or thought that I will be able to pass on to them or have any suggestions of what you feel is important for them to know.

Thank you in advance for any assistance you can give.

Regards,

Jo

 

Hello Jo
Some info from the Commonwealth War Graves Commision.

The Commission's principles

Each of the dead should be commemorated by name on the headstone or memorial

Headstones and memorials should be permanent

Headstones should be uniform

There should be no distinction made on account of military or civil rank, race or creed

:: CWGC :: Who We Are

:: CWGC :: Remember Me information for Primary and Secondary schools

http://www.cwgc.org/admin/files/Statisitics.pdf

 

Hi Jo.
I am a Normandy Veteran that served in the Third British Infantry division, I was a Royal Engineer (Sapper) that took part in many operations and actions.

I offer this little piece as an opening into the the preparation prior to the invasion on D day.
If I can help further please let me know.
Sapper
The Invasion Warning to Occupied Europe.
At Last. At Last we are going back…
Prior to our landings there had to be adequate warning to the people of occupied France Belgium and Holland of the coming invasion. There had been messages passed over the radio in code to resistance groups for some considerable time during the years of occupation, messages that made little sense except to those who knew the code. "Uncle amos lost his teacups" "The river runs high today".."Francoise is thirty one". In preparation for the coming invasion the early warning message was to be a verse from a French poet. Verlain.
The first warning to be broadcast was to inform the population of Europe that the invasion was to take place shortly The second broadcast to inform the people the invasion was to take place NOW.
There has seldom been a broadcast with such momentous import, signaling the death of thousands of men and the destruction of the Norman Countryside.
The first warning in French was as follows:
"Les sanglots longs des violons de Autumne"
Translated as:
"The long sobs of the violins of Autumn"
The second warning telling Europe that the invasion was to take place now was:
"Blessant mon coure d,un langouer monotone"
Translated as:
"Bless my heart with monotonous langour"
Somehow these words seem to reflect the magnitude of the events that were to follow. The invasion by a mighty fleet, valiant deeds, many that went unrecognized, and the freeing of the enslaved peoples of occupied Europe. For us elderly Veterans who took part it was a great endeavour. What ever happens to us, we shall always be aware that we had a part in the shaping of history, we took part in those mighty battles, battles, where men died for what was right! Eventually, resulting in the freeing of the enslaved people of the continent from the evil disease of the Nazi yoke. Seldom in our long history could there have been a better cause than this. I am very proud to have taken part in this great crusade.

PS Please let me know if this helps. or what else I can do to educate the younger generation.

 

Hi,

I am a new Scout leader, I want to make sure that my scouts fully understand the scarifice that was made and why it is important that we remember.

I was hoping that some of you may be willing to share a story or thought that I will be able to pass on to them or have any suggestions of what you feel is important for them to know.

Thank you in advance for any assistance you can give.

Regards,

Jo

Where I live near Bristol, We have the only War Memorial dedicated to the local Scout troop that gave their lives in WW1 in the United Kingdom
Downend war memorial gives up its secrets | Kingswood People

 

Jo
no doubt that you are aware of the tendency of many teens/scouts to think that war is an adventure - it is NOT - and war should not be glorified as an adventure and so they should be made aware that it is a very dirty business and that people die ferociously and many are left handicapped and so a bit of tough love shoul be also administered -to get them away from the nonsense from wherever it comes

Thus I would share this link to show what can happen....

Gemmano 1944. Part 1 : the Gothic Line and the Operation Olive

Cheers

 

If you have name, age, rank and place of burial (or just as likely only a memorial for those who have no known grave) of those listed on your local War Memorial who died in WWI and WWII, and better stilll for presentence those who have died in the more recent conflicts, that went to their school... And then make them walk over Otterburn ranges when a big Arty barrage follows them all the way back to their billets; then they may start to understand a small piece of it and 'remember'.

Hark at me; I wasn't there, but I have always 'remembered'.

Best,

Steve.

 

CL1 - Thank you so much will check out that info.

Sapper - Thank you so much for sharing that it was very much appreciated, please feel free to share any others if you wish.

Medic7922 - Thank you. I tried to google for more info but sadly I couldn't find any.

Tom - Thank you for your frank comments. Indeed it is true that some teens do not value life as they should and see combat as a huge adventure. I will most certainly be sharing with them the reality. I read some of your link, I think the casualty numbers in this extract alone will bring home to them the high numbers of loses that were encountered. I will read it throughly tomorrow.

Steve - Thank you - yes we are taking them over to our local church which has a war memorial, I think making it real is very important to their understanding.

Thank you all again, your input has been very very helpful.

Regards,

Jo

 

Jo
I am a Scout Leader too. I exploit that my (13 & 14 year old) scouts have been on expeditions and may think of war as an adventure. I have put together a replica set of soldiers kit of the 2nd WW and am fortunate enough to have some 1st WW kit. Scouts should know about what they need for an expedition or camp. Faced with what soldiers actually lived with, Scouts start to empathise. You can then introduce ideas such as lack of choice, uncertainty of how long it will all last, unfamiliar countries and cultures, being away from families (who themselves may be in danger on the Home Front) THEN the idea of fighting, killing, being wounded or killed, however don't get sucked into too much technical detail of weapons (they know a lot of these from computer games which we want to get away from). They get it!

Giving each a name on the local war memorial to think about during the parade and service adds a link which will endure beyond the day.

Good luck

Keith Matthews

 

As well as our own veterans experiences, lots of inspiration on this link......

BBC - WW2 People's War

 

From the web.

The Sheffield Pals

At 7.20am the first wave of the battalion moved 100yds into No Man's Land and lay flat on the ground as the brigade mortar battery and divisional artillery placed a final hurricane bombardment over the German front line. A few minutes later - with the British front line coming under an intense counter-barrage - the second wave took up position 30yds behind the first.
At 7.30am the bombardment lifted from the German front line. All four waves rose, took a moment to align themselves, then advanced steadily towards the German lines into a devastating hail of machine gun bullets and shellfire. An ineffective smoke screen exposed the battalion to machine gun fire from the left as well as from ahead. The third and fourth waves, caught on the opposite side of the valley, were reduced to half strength before even reaching No Man's Land. On the left of the battalion front, long stretches of barbed wire had been left uncut. Men brought to a halt in front of the inpenetrable entanglements were reduced to firing vainly through the wire to the German lines beyond. Only on the right of the attack were a few men somehow able to force their way into the German trenches; amongst them were Lt. Charles Elam, 12/371 Pte. Albert Fretwell and 12/1003 Pte. George Mulford. Some found themselves alone and managed to return to the British lines. Others were never heard of again.
Within minutes it was as if the battalion had been wiped off the face of the earth. Cpl. Signaller Outram recalled that as far as the eye could see, the last two men left standing on the battlefield were himself and another signaller, A. Brammer. They signalled to each other. Outram turned his head for a moment, and when he looked back Brammer had gone.
On the right of the Sheffield City Battalion, the Accrington Pals made greater inroads into the German trenches but were unable to hold on to the hard-won gains. The battle for Serre was lost.
The Aftermath The remnants of the battalion were taken out of the line in the evening of 3rd July, having lost 513 officers and men killed, wounded or missing; a further 75 were slightly wounded.

The Accrington Pals


At 6.30am, the British artillery commenced its final furious bombardment of the German front line. At 7.20am, Captain Tough led the first of the battalion's four waves 100 yds into the nightmare of No Man's Land under the cover of artillery and mortar fire. A few minutes later, the second wave followed led by Captain Livesey. As shells continued to burst on the German front trench, the men of the 3rd and 4th Companies IR169 scrambled from their underground shelters bringing machine guns, rifles and grenades to bear on the attacking troops. At 7.30am, the bombardment was lifted from the German front line and the leading waves rose and walked in line towards the German positions. Machine gun- and rifle fire immediately tore into the advancing lines of infantry. One British observer likened the lines of dead to "swathes of cut corn at harvest time". Incredible as it now seems, groups of Pals defied the machine gun fire, threaded their way through the barbed wire and dropped into the German front line. On their left, some of the 12th York & Lancasters also fought their way through. All was in vain. Behind, the third and fourth waves suffered dreadful losses before even reaching No Man's Land. The leading companies of the 13th York & Lancasters were cut down in turn. Some of the Pals - their officers killed or wounded - pressed on towards Serre, never to be seen again. The remaining survivors in the German front line - bereft of reinforcements - were forced to withdraw. By 8am, the battle for Serre was effectively over.
"The History of the East Lancashire Regiment in the Great War" records that out of some 720 Accrington Pals who took part in the attack, 584 were killed, wounded or missing. "The result of the H.E. shells, shrapnel, machine-gun and rifle fire was such that hardly any of our men reached the German front trench. The lines which advanced in such admirable order, melted away under fire; yet not a man wavered, broke the ranks or attempted to go back. I have never seen, indeed could never have imagined such a magnificent display of gallantry, discipline and determination." (Brigadier-General H. C. Rees, GOC of 94th Brigade.)


You could pick almost any other Pals battalion for a similar tale.

The Pals battalions always break my heart all the lads of an area, similar ages, grew up together, served together, died together.

 

You could pick almost any other Pals battalion for a similar tale.

The Pals battalions always break my heart all the lads of an area, similar ages, grew up together, served together, died together.

Absolutely, from my home town came the Preston Pals and attached is a flicker photograph of them forming up on the old Flag Market in front of the Harris Museum.


Preston Pals, Flag Market September 1914 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!



Preston Pals, Flag Market September 1914

The Preston Pals forming up on the flag Market. Sept. 7th 1914.
It is sobering to consider that so great was the loss of life during the First World War that 12 years after this photo was taken, the Boer War memorial, seen at the far right of the image, would be replaced by a new cenotaph in rememberance of a large number of the volunteers seen assembling in this photograph. Following the Battle of Bazentin-le-Petit in 1916 200 out of the 250 in the battalion were killed.

You could equate the Pals to school students all joining up together and from the 250 that joined up and entered the battle only 50 were left alive.


Regards
Tom

 

Thank you all, very much should make my job easier.

Jo

 

Your Remembrance project would be incomplete without giving some thought to the civilians who suffered, and continue to suffer, in wars. These days for every soldier killed in war around nine civilians have their lives robbed from them, many of them children like your scouts.

Millions of civilians were killed in the two world wars - all too little remembered.

My classmate missing from school one morning because her house had been blown up brought home to me the meaning of war more than all the beating of drums and waving of flags.

 

Even though the times have changed, the brutality of war hasn't. A picture is still worth a thousand words.

Here's a story you might find of interest:

XXXX Photo of Dying Marine Draws Fire from PentagonXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX : Information Clearing House - ICH

Sanitizing War and Occupation

Photo of Dying Marine Draws Fire from Pentagon

By Matthew Shaer

Scroll to base of page to view photographs

September 05, 2009 "CSM" -- - Defense Secretary Robert Gates has condemned the Associated Press decision to release a photograph of a US Marine wounded during a battle in the Helmand province of southern Afghanistan. The Marine, Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard of New Portland, Maine, was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in a Taliban ambush on Aug. 14. He later died of his wounds.

In the AP photograph, Bernard is pictured lying on his side on a sandy slope. The image is blurry, but Bernard appears to be bleeding; two other Marines stand over him, attending to his wounds. The caption, titled “Afghanistan Death of a Marine,” identifies the location as the village of Dahaneh. The photographer is Julie Jacobson, who also took the image at the top of this post. The AP reports that Bernard later died on the operating table at a nearby field hospital.

“AP journalists document world events every day. Afghanistan is no exception,” Santiago Lyon, the wire services’ director of photography, said in a statement. “We feel it is our journalistic duty to show the reality of the war there, however unpleasant and brutal that sometimes is.” In a story on the ambush, the AP reported that Bernard’s death came during the “deadliest month of the deadliest year since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

According to the AP, Bernard’s parents had twice asked the image not be released.

Fallout

“I cannot imagine the pain and suffering Lance Corporal Bernard’s death has caused his family,” Gates wrote in a letter to Thomas Curley, AP’s president and chief executive officer. “Why your organization would purposefully defy the family’s wishes knowing full well that it will lead to yet more anguish is beyond me. Your lack of compassion and common sense in choosing to put this image of their maimed and stricken child on the front page of multiple American newspapers is appalling. The issue here is not law, policy or constitutional right – but judgment and common decency.”

The leader of the largest veterans association in the US has also criticized the AP’s decision, Reuters reports.

“The lack of compassion and common decency shown by the Associated Press in releasing this photograph is stunning,” said American Legion National Commander Clarence E. Hill, a retired Navy captain. “Lance Corporal Joshua Bernard is a hero who gave his life for his country. His family is understandably offended.”

—

White House responds to anger over Obama school speech

“I think we’ve reached a little bit of the silly season when the President of the United States can’t tell kids in school to study hard and stay in school,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporter

Death of a Marine in Afghanistan


September 4th, 2009 - NEW YORK (AP) — The Associated Press is distributing a photo of a Marine fatally wounded in battle, choosing after a period of reflection to make public an image that conveys the grimness of war and the sacrifice of young men and women fighting it.
Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard, 21, of New Portland, Maine, was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in a Taliban ambush Aug. 14 in Helmand province of southern Afghanistan.

The image shows fellow Marines helping Bernard after he suffered severe leg injuries. He was evacuated to a field hospital where he died on the operating table.

The picture was taken by Associated Press photographer Julie Jacobson, who accompanied Marines on the patrol and was in the midst of the ambush during which Bernard was wounded. She had photographed Bernard on patrol earlier, and subsequently covered the memorial service held by his fellow Marines after his death.

“AP journalists document world events every day. Afghanistan is no exception. We feel it is our journalistic duty to show the reality of the war there, however unpleasant and brutal that sometimes is,” said Santiago Lyon, the director of photography for AP.

He said Bernard’s death shows “his sacrifice for his country. Our story and photos report on him and his last hours respectfully and in accordance with military regulations surrounding journalists embedded with U.S. forces.”

Journalists embedded with U.S. forces in Afghanistan must sign a statement accepting a series of rules which among other things are designed to protect operational security and lives of the soldiers and Marines who are hosting them.

Critics also maintain some of the rules are aimed at sanitizing the war, minimizing the sacrifice and cruelty which were graphically depicted by images from the Civil War to Vietnam where such restrictions were not in place.

The rule regarding coverage of “wounded, injured, and ill personnel” states that the “governing concerns” are “patient welfare, patient privacy and next of kin/family considerations.”

“Casualties may be covered by embedded media as long as the service member’s identity and unit identification is protected from disclosure until OASD-PA has officially released the name. Photography from a respectful distance or from angles at which a casualty cannot be identified is permissible; however, no recording of ramp ceremonies or remains transfers is permitted.”

Images of U.S. soldiers fallen in combat have been rare in Iraq and Afghanistan, partly because it is unusual for journalists to witness them and partly because military guidelines have barred the showing of photographs until after families have been notified.

Jacobson, who was crouching under fire, took the picture from a distance with a long lens and did not interfere with Marines trying to assist Bernard.

The AP waited until after Bernard’s burial in Madison, Maine, on Aug. 24 to distribute its story and the pictures. An AP reporter met with his parents, allowing them to see the images.

Bernard’s father after seeing the image of his mortally wounded son said he opposed its publication, saying it was disrespectful to his son’s memory. John Bernard reiterated his viewpoint in a telephone call to the AP on Wednesday.

“We understand Mr. Bernard’s anguish. We believe this image is part of the history of this war. The story and photos are in themselves a respectful treatment and recognition of sacrifice,” said AP senior managing editor John Daniszewski.

The photo was in a package that the AP sent to its newspaper, broadcast and online subscribers Thursday morning with an “embargo,” or scheduled release time, of 12:01 a.m. Friday, Sept. 4. That scheduled release time meant the stories and photos were in the hands of thousands of editors by Thursday morning, giving them the day to make their own decisions about publishing the battlefield photo.

Thursday afternoon, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called AP President Tom Curley asking that the news organization respect the wishes of Bernard’s father and not publish the photo. Curley and AP Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll said they understood this was a painful issue for Bernard’s family and that they were sure that factor was being considered by the editors deciding whether or not to publish the photo, just as it had been for the AP editors who decided to distribute it.

Jacobson, in a journal she kept, recalled Bernard’s ordeal as she lay in the dirt while Marines tried to save their comrade with bullets overhead.

“The other guys kept telling him ‘Bernard, you’re doing fine, you’re doing fine. You’re gonna make it. Stay with me Bernard!’” As one Marine cradled Bernard’s head, fellow Marines rushed forward with a stretcher.

Later, when she learned he had died, Jacobson thought about the pictures she had taken.

“To ignore a moment like that simply … would have been wrong. I was recording his impending death, just as I had recorded his life moments before walking the point in the bazaar,” she said. “Death is a part of life and most certainly a part of war. Isn’t that why we’re here? To document for now and for history the events of this war?”

Later, she showed members of his squad all the images taken that day and the Marines flipped through them on her computer one by one.

“They did stop when they came to that moment,” she said. “But none of them complained or grew angry about it. They understood that it was what it was. They understand, despite that he was their friend, it was the reality of things.”



In this photo taken Friday Aug. 14, 2009, U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard of Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, patrols on point through the bazaar in the village of Dahaneh in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Less than an hour later Bernard’s squad was ambushed by Taliban fighters waiting in a pomegranate grove. Bernard was hit with a rocket propelled grenade and later died of his wounds. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)


In this photo taken Friday, Aug. 14, 2009, Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard is tended to by fellow U.S. Marines after being hit by a rocket propelled grenade during a firefight against the Taliban in the village of Dahaneh in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Bernard was transported by helicopter to Camp Leatherneck where he later died of his wounds. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)


In this Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009 photo, U.S. Marine Lt. Jake Godby pays his respects to Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard during a memorial service at a forward operating base with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, in Now Zad in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Bernard was mortally wounded during a Taliban ambush on Aug. 14. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)


This undated photo provided Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009 by the US Marine Corps shows Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard, 21. Bernard was hit with a rocket propelled grenade in a Taliban ambush Friday, Aug. 14, 2009 in the village of Dahaneh in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. He later died of his wounds. (AP Photo/USMC

 

Today we have to consider others like it or not it is fact. I would most certainly not introduce young people to anything relating to individual battles or the sight of carnage structurally or bodily. It is not for non school organizations to usurp parents. I worry that some have an infatuation that clouds judgement mistaking a vile business with some idea of Glory - Glory is life, dying in the mud is not. I will stand in silence and remember close friends and others whilst the streets will be thronging with Sunday Shoppers - maybe that is what was bought with so much blood the freedom to choose - until recently I would pass the Cenotaph (Southampton) with 2008 names engraved and do so daily, a moments thought. I know when they fell and with most where they fell , I sometime passed in apologetic silence trying to convince myself why they fell. It might be better to concentrate on the names of the local lads and lasses who offered all and the offer was accepted by a grateful nation. When I first moved to Southampton, on Armistice day greeted by a small group of ex Guardsmen - 'hello Jock', the greeting followed by good natured banter, one ex Coldstream who had been in the area for awhile gave me the local gen. The Cenotaph, Lutyens first one an elaborate version of Whitehall, the hymn Oh god, our help in ages past - he tapped me on the shoulder and pointed - a statue of Isaac Watts looking upon the Cenotaph in Watts Park - He wrote that hymn and many more. Look at local contributions and not the misplaced glamour - there ain't none! 1965 the words of CSM Fred Selby ex long serving regular then our cadet unit 2 i/c. Soldiers have to fight - I never met one who wanted to!

 

Thank you all for your comments, I have certainly taken them onboard. Obviously everything has to be looked at in an age appropriate way.

We will be discussing the emense loss of life service personnel as well as cillivan, we will be visiting our local war memorial and as a few of you have suggested bringing those individuals to life by learning about them. We will be discussing why it is important to remember.

In my eyes it is important for schools and parents alike to teach their children about the reality of conflict and the consquences. My 11 year old son has always and I hope will always wear a poppy, remember and respect those who have served, died or been wounded serving in our armed services.

If I can pass this on to any of my scouts I will be happy.

Thank you all again.

Regards,

Jo

 

there are many ways to aim your project Jo

focus on local - i.e how where you live was affected (areas destroyed by bombing raids etc), or the number of names on memorials

or go on timescale start a line say starting at 1940, and highlight local casualties through each decade (there have only been 2 years since 1945 where UK forces havent been active in a conflict somewhere) and show the scouts who died defending our peace in the 50's, 60's etc

 

Capt Bill,

Timeline is fab idea (now why didn't I think that!!) I'll get on to it now. This will highlight how relevant war really is and show it is not just something that happened 60 odd years ago.

Thank you very much.

 

Here is one of my favorite WW I Home Front stories:



The following article was taken from the Canadian Red Cross web site (www.redcross.ca) and Muggins raised over $6000.


In Memory of Muggins

Written by Bess Page, who currently resides in Metchosin and is the author of two books. This story recounts a World War I memory of local 94 year old Victoria resident, Jim Ferguson. This article originally appeared in the Victoria Times Colonist, Sunday, November 9th, 2003.

I was just six years old in 1916 when my dad went off to war. He had tried to enlist in 1914 but at a height of 5 foot 6 inches the powers that be decided he was too short. But after two years of losing men in the carnage of trench warfare reinforcements were urgently needed so he was deemed tall enough to carry a rifle.



Muggins canvassed the streets of Victoria for Red Cross donations during World War I.

City of Victoria Archives -

by Permission 97911-03-4799



He was part of the Bantam regiment, an infantry group of men who were of less than average height. Ironically their company commander was over 6 feet. My dad joked that being short was an advantage in the trenches. When he stood on the firing step the snipers couldn’t pick him off because not enough of his head was showing.
The war didn’t mean much to me as a six year old. I just knew that my dad was wearing strange clothes and that he was going away for a long time. I knew, too that my mother was upset about him leaving. We went to see him off but my mother would not go to the wharf - we stood across the harbour and watched the soldiers marching onto the boat. It was just before Christmas and the band was playing Christmas music. But at home my sister and I were disappointed that there was to be no tree with the lit candles we loved.

The memory that really stands out in my mind is of the little white Spitz dog named Muggins who was at the Red Cross Centre. Across from the present Bay Centre at Fort and Government which was know as the Five Sisters Block was a burned out area which had been made into a mock dugout to house the Victoria Red Cross. It was built of logs with mud around it to make it look like a trench. Once or twice a month my mother would take my sister and me to the Red Cross centre. We would take the number seven street car down Hillside, along Douglas and get off at Yates. From there we walked to the Red Cross dugout. Inside was a lady in a Red Cross uniform. My mother told us that our dad was living in a place like this overseas.

That was where we spotted Muggins. He was the cutest little dog I’d ever seen. I did not have a dog of my own so to pet Muggins was the highlight of my day. But Muggins did not have time to chat with small boys. He had lot of work to do. On his sturdy little body he had two wooden boxes with slots on top and the Red Cross painted on the sides. His task was to travel around the downtown area collecting money for the Red Cross. Who could resist that little Sptiz with the imploring eyes? No, he wasn’t on a leash with a handler, he was on his own. Muggins knew his beat very well – up to Douglas, past Spencer’s and Woolworth's, down Yates around the block to View. He knew that when his boxes got heavy he was to return to his base where the cash was taken out and off he went again, this time perhaps on a different route.

My sister and I watched Muggins come and go with envious eyes. We wished we could accompany him on his rounds. Perhaps we too could have little boxes strapped on our shoulders with the Red Cross sign painted on the. We plied our mother with questions – where does Muggins go at night? where does he sleep? what does he eat? could we please take him home for one night and bring him back the next day?

My poor harassed mother had two lively pre-schoolers to care for plus a new baby at home born shortly after my dad’s departure. She had many other things to worry about then to think of a little Red Cross dog. From the Red Cross dugout we would go to the Times Building on Broad Street so that my mother could read the war news. People did not have radios so they crowed around the billboards outside the building to see what was happening overseas. The signs were often being changed to provide the latest news.

My dad survived the kill gas of Ypres, the bloody battles of Passchendale and Vimy Ridge right up to the Hindenburg line. Just a couple of months before the war ended he received a slight shrapnel wound in his arm which kept him in hospital until after the Armistice was signed. He regretted not being in the triumphant march into Paris.

We all went to the CPR docks to welcome him home in 1919. My dad leaving, his returning, the bad news of his wound are all a blur in my memory, but in my mind I still see a that little white dog Muggins, tail waving jauntily, going proudly on his rounds collecting money for the Red Cross.

 

Sergeant Gander of the Royal Rifles of Canada


Gander with members of the 1st Royal Rifles in Hong Kong image courtesy - Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association


Gander: A Newfoundland Hero

Based on an article that appeared in Newf Tide written by Mary Jane Spackman with contributions from Sue Miller

Gander became the Newfoundland mascot of Quebec City’s Royal Rifles of Canada by chance. He began his life as a puppy named Pal with his family in Gander, Newfoundland. As he grew he spent more and more time at the airport with the soldiers who were assigned there. His family felt he was growing too big and the Royal Rifles willingly adopted him as their mascot. His official name became Regimental Mascot Sgt. Gander. Gander’s new life with the Rifles would cover many miles and ultimately end at the battle of Lye Mun on Hong Kong Island.

During his time as their mascot, Gander proved his value more than once. There are at least three documented instances of Gander protecting the troops. The first was when a wave of attackers landed on the beach and Gander rushed at them barking and charging at their legs. The second instance occurred at night. There was a group of injured Canadians laying on the road and as a group of Japanese soldiers advanced towards them, Gander flew at them, causing them to change direction.

The last heroic act by Gander would cost him his life. A grenade was thrown towards a group of soldiers commanded by Captain Gavey. The soldiers were unable to move away from the grenade due to intense shooting from the Japanese. Gander ran forward, took the grenade in his mouth and continued away from his men. Gander was killed by the subsequent explosion but the men he served were saved by their loyal Newfoundland mascot. This last act of heroism has been memorialized for eternity by awarding Gander the Dickin Medal for "acts of conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in wartime." The prestigious Dickin Medal was awarded by the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) which is an animal veterinary charity in the United Kingdom.



The inscription on Gander's Citation for Bravery reads as follows:

For saving the lives of Canadian Infantrymen during the Battle of Lye Mun on Hong Kong Island in December 1941. On three documented occasions “Gander” the Newfoundland mascot of the Royal Rifles of Canada engaged the enemy as his regiment joined the Winnipeg Grenadiers, members of Battalion Headquarters “C” Force and other Commonwealth troops in their courageous defence of the Island. Twice “Gander’s” attacks halted the enemy’s advance and protected groups of wounded soldiers. In a final act of bravery the war dog was killed in action gathering a grenade. Without “Gander’s” intervention many more lives would have been lost in the assault.


***Note: Sergeant Gander is the only Canadian I know of who was awarded Dickin Medal.