Remembrance Day - Nov 11th, 2005

Remembrance Day ceremony at Kanata Cenotaph, November 11th, 2005

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae

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.


Bill Christopher - virtual memorial - Calgary Highlanders. Circumstances of death unknown. However... my speculation is that Bill was wounded at the battle of Hoogerheide (Oct 10/44) and then killed during the South Beveland action (Oct 14-31). This speculation is simply based on comparing the dates in the telegrams with the dates of the battles the Cgy Highrs. Some Google Earth coordinates on this here.

Ron Taylor - virtual memorial - Royal Canadian Artillery. Killed by a mine explosion. Circumstances of Ron's death are documented in the RCHA book "Right of the Line: An Anecdotal History of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery from 1871" by Mitchell, MC, CD Maj. G.D. (1986). Here is the excerpt:

"November 17th was an especially sad day for the RCHA. Lt Hugh J. Bedell, the RSO, and his driver L/Bdr Ron F. Taylor were killed by a new type of mine. They had gone forward on a preliminary survey of the gun area to be occupied by the regiment in relieving 3rd Fd Regt with Porter Force. Having some knowlege of mines, Bedell had removed one of this new type for inspection by experts. It exploded while being lifted from the jeep. Ironically, Taylor was one of the few long-service men then slated for leave in Canada."

The real irony was that Ron Taylor was filling in for a fellow driver, his buddy Bauman, who was sick with food poisoning.

When Bauman got back to Canada, he named his son Ron in honour of Ron Taylor. We met Ron in Ottawa at the new Canadian War Museum this summer.

Picture of World War II graves from the Canadian war cemetery in Goosbeck, Holland. Some of these soldiers were killed during operation Market Garden, better known as "A Bridge Too Far" (movie info).
(Image from here.)