Remberance Canadian War Dead

Rememberance

©2017 All Rights Reserved
The Past Whispers

Sable Chief – Comforting Mascot

 

On March 31, 1949, the Island of Newfoundland officially became a Canadian province. However during the time of the First World War, 1914-1918, Newfoundland was still a dominion of Great Britain. When Britain declared war on Germany in 1914, Newfoundland was automatically at war as well. More than 12,000 Newfoundlanders rushed to enlist.

They came to be known as the “Blue Puttees” because of the colour of the wool fabric on their uniform that protected their legs.

In 1916, the Newfoundlanders went to France to fight at the Battle of the Somme to help stop the Germans from invading further into France.

The attack by the Newfoundland Regiment on the first morning of the Battle, on July 1^st near the village of Beaumont-Hamel, was supposed to take the Germans by surprise. However, the Germans had been alerted about it, and they were ready and prepared. Unfortunately, as the Newfoundlanders left their trench to go over the top and advance toward the enemy for their attack, they walked into a hail of machine gun fire.

The losses were huge. Some 800 Newfoundlanders went into battle that morning and sadly, more than 700 of these brave soldiers would be killed, wounded or go missing in the fighting.

 

Those who survived the Battle at Beaumont-Hamel had to stay in France to continue fighting. This was hard because they were sad that they had watched many of their friends die on July 1^st. It was difficult for them to keep their spirits up. Some Canadian soldiers noticed this, and offered the Newfoundland Regiment a canine friend. He was a very large Newfoundland dog named Sable Chief.

Sable Chief marched with the regimental band, and visited wounded troops. Being 150 pounds or more, his huge size attracted a lot of attention! Not only did he keep in step with the marching but it’s said that he would stand at the playing of the Newfoundland anthem, and stayed at attention until it finished. Sable Chief really boosted the spirit of the regiment! It’s comforting to know that pets and mascots can help humans feel better about unpleasant situations, just like Sable Chief did for the Newfoundlanders during the First World War.

 

Newfoundland Regiment mascot, "Sable Chief," surrounded by forget-me-not flowers, with Beaumont-Hamel Park in the background. – painting by Darlene Redmond

The families on the home front in Newfoundland who lost sons, fathers and friends on that tragic day, felt a great deal of grief and sadness. To remind them of their loved ones who died, they decided that every year July 1^st would be called Memorial Day (similar to Remembrance Day), and they would wear little blue flowers called “forget-me-nots” on their shirts to remember.

The Government of Newfoundland also built five monuments in the shape of a caribou in France and Belgium, where the Newfoundland Regiment fought, and one in Newfoundland. The largest of these monuments is on a mound of rocks and plants native to Newfoundland at Beaumont-Hamel park in France. They chose the form of the caribou because it is an animal native and familiar to all in Newfoundland and Labrador, which also was the emblem used in the Newfoundland Regiment cap badge. These symbols of remembrance help the people of Newfoundland and Labrador keep connected with their past.

 

©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson
The Past Whispers
All Rights Reserved

The Royal Canadian Navy 1914

 

Canada’s obsolete navy was unprepared for war, with only two under-equipped warships. The protection of Canada’s coasts was entrusted to the Royal Navy. But when the war started, the Royal Navy was occupied in locating and fighting German squadrons, leaving Canada largely defenseless.

Before the war started, reports indicated that German warships were headed for Canada’s west coast. HMCS Rainbow, stationed at Esquimalt, British Columbia with a partial crew and lacking proper ammunition, was Canada’s only naval defense against German warships that would surely have destroyed it.

Fortunately, the Germans never planned to raid in Canadian waters, but the perceived danger of enemy attack had a substantial influence on Canadian naval efforts. British Columbia Premier Sir Richard McBride secretly purchased two submarines from a shipyard in the United States. After significant work on submarines to get them seaworthy, they patrolled the west and east coasts during the war, but never saw action.

 

Desperate Efforts to Increase the Navy

To make up for the shortage of Canadian warships, several patriotic citizens loaned or gave their personal yachts to the navy. Other vessels were built by the Imperial Munitions Board. By war’s end, 100 small vessels had been pressed into service, most of them based in Halifax.

 

 

U-Boats Attack

In the summer of 1918, German U-Boats raided Canada’s east coast, attacking vulnerable ships. Canada’s small navy had little success in bringing the U-Boats to battle, but the war ended before the Germans did much damage.

 

Civilian Sailors

With enemy U-Boats causing serious losses to Allied merchant shipping, the Canadian government decided in early 1918 to establish and operate a strong merchant marine, the Canadian Government Merchant Marine (CGMM). The first annual report explained that these CGMM ships were “intended primarily to cooperate with the British shipping in supplying the necessities of war and in times of peace to provide the means of carrying abroad the produces of Canada’s farms, forests, mines and factories, without which Canada could not hope to take full advantage of the opportunity of expanding her export trade.” While there was an unknown number of civilian sailor casualties during the war, their work was essential in supporting the Allied war effort, and would prove equally important in the Second World War.

 

Tallying the Naval Effort

The Royal Canadian Navy expanded from a mere 350 sailors to over 5,000 from 1914 to 1918. Another 3,000 Canadians served with Britain’s Royal Navy. Over 150 Royal Canadian Navy sailors died during the war.

 

©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson
The Past Whispers
All Rights Reserved