The Remembrance Poppy

The poppy is a widely recognized symbol of remembrance for fallen soldiers that many choose to wear in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day.

We were intrigued to find records in our archive that document how the poppy became a universally accepted memorial flower and how it started to bloom on the lapels of Canadians.

The use of the flower as a memorial has roots in John McCrae's 1915 poem In Flanders Fields. An American teacher by the name of Moina Michael read McCrae's poem and pledged to always wear a poppy as a sign of remembrance. In 1919, Madame Anna A. Guerin (nee Boulle) happened to meet Michael while touring the States, and was inspired to circulate paper poppies to raise funds for individuals living in war-torn France.

Guerin pitched the idea of an Inter-Allied Poppy Day to several nations after her American Poppy Drives proved successful. The Great War Veterans' Association of Canada (precursor to the Royal Canadian Legion) adopted the campaign in 1921.

Here at ARCAT we have two early letters from the office of the G.W.V.A. that request participation in the Poppy Day Campaign ahead of Armistice Day on November 11.


Letter describing the National Poppy Day Campaign, circa 1921. 

"It has been thought appropriate that Canada should also adopt this beautiful custom. to this end, the Great war Veterans' Association of Canada has arranged with the French Children's League to distribute just prior to Armistice Day, replicas of the Flanders poppy, which the orphan children of France are making."

 FW HC05.10
ARCAT First World War Collection

Letter describing the National Poppy Day Campaign, circa 1921.

"On Armistice Day the soldiers cemeteries in France will be thronged by a reverend crowd eager to show that those who fought and won and sleep in Flanders Fields are not forgotten.
[…]
consider it a sacred obligation to wear the bright red poppy on Armistice Day
[…]
and keep alive the memory of those who brought  back honour to their country, glory to their flag, and peace to the world."

 FW HC05.11
ARCAT First World War Collection

The Legion continues the annual Poppy Campaign to this day as a way to support veterans and their families. Find more information about the Poppy and Remembrance Day on the Legion's website.


Lest We Forget

Every year on November 11, we remember the courage and sacrifice of all those who have served Canada in times of war.

Our photo of the week shows Cardinal McGuigan among the headstones of fallen soldiers at the Canadian military cemetery in Moro River, Ortona, Italy.

 

"His Eminence James Cardinal McGuigan officiates at Canadian military cemetery, Ortona (five hours drive from Rome). He is seen talking with Mr. Jean Desy, Canadian ambassador to Rome and the Archbishop of the Italian military army. Speeches were made by the Canadian Speaker of the House, Mr. MacDonald, Mr. Gagnon, Mr. Pouliet of Quebec and others"

PH 09H/44AL

ARCAT Photo Collection


The photograph was taken in November 1950, following the blessing of a new chapel at the Moro River Canadian War Cemetery in Ortono. Canadian donations funded the construction of the new chapel to replace one that had been destroyed during the war. In 1944 official war artist Lieutenant Comfort painted a striking painting of the damage to the church; this painting is now part of The Canadian War Museum collection and viewable on their website.

 

His Eminence Cardinal McGuigan gave the sermon for the blessing of the rebuilt chapel and, Archbishop Maruice Roy of Quebec officiated. The photograph also shows Canadian Ambassador to Italy, Honorable Jean Desy, who formally presented the chapel to Italian authorities after the ceremony.

The Canadian Corps selected Moro River as the site for a cemetery in January 1944 to bury Candian soldiers who died before, during and after the Battle of Ortona in December of 1943. The First Canadian Infantry Division was ordered to take Ortona as part of a larger campaign to break the German line of defence on Italy’s eastern coast. After 8 days of fighting, the Germans withdrew, but not without a price: by the end of the battle over 500 Canadian casualties were reported. Canadian troops continued to make advances and patrol the area until spring of 1944.

The main road to the cemetery passes under an archway in the very chapel blessed by Cardinal McGuigan and Archbishop Roy 68 years ago. There are 1615 individuals buried at the cemetery, 1375 of which are identified as Canadian soldiers.

We Remember.

We Remember

At 5:00 a.m. the morning of November 11,1918, an armistice agreement was signed between the Germans and Allied forces, who had been at war since 1914. The agreement, signed in a railroad car outside Compiégne, France, was to put an end to "the war to end all wars" until a peace treaty could be ratified.

Here in the archives we have a letter written on this historic day.


First World War Fonds, FW CS01.63

Letter to Archbishop McNeil from Reverend Edward Hawks
 November 11, 1918

The letter is written to Archbishop McNeil from Reverend Edward Hawks. Reverend Hawks was a British-born Canadian serving in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He returned to Canada during the war to become a chaplain in the Canadian army.

He writes he is with the 5th Battalion, R.T, but does not say where he is currently stationed. He tells Archbishop McNeil that he has been to the front and was part of the great advance, but does not say which advance this is.

He worries peace might never come.

And yet, Reverend Hawks writes that there is a rumour spreading through his battalion of an immediate armistice.

We know now that it was no rumour at all. On the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the armistice agreement signed earlier that day went into effect. All battles on the Western Front were to cease. The Great War had ended.

Now, every year on November 11th we observe Remembrance Day. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, we hold a moment of silence to pause and reflect on the sacrifices made -- in this war and the wars that followed.

This weekend our thoughts are with all the men and women who have served our country during times of war, conflict and peace.

Lest we forget.

We Will Remember Them. Their Glory Cannot Fade.

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, the armistice that ended the First World War came into effect. One year later and every year thereafter, the date was commemorated in Commonwealth countries. It is a day to remember those who were lost and those who came home but were forever changed. A day to tell veterans that we haven't forgotten them. A day to recall the price of war and keep it in our collective memory so that future generations will know that there are better ways to solve their differences.  

Here in Toronto, the day has been marked at the cenotaph at Old City Hall since its unveiling in 1925, as seen in the City of Toronto Archives photo below:

Unveiling of the cenotaph at Old City Hall, Toronto

November 11, 1925
City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1266, Item 6584

The word 'cenotaph' comes from the Greek words for 'empty tomb.' These structures are common memorials for the dead whose remains are elsewhere. During the First World War, fallen soldiers were buried where they fell, which left tens of thousands of Canadian families without a place to mourn. Cenotaphs built all over the country became the focus of their grief and the representation of the nation's sacrifice.

Here in the archives, we have a program from 1934's Remembrance Day service at the cenotaph:

"We will remember them" "Their glory cannot fade"
Remembrance Day Service
Sixteenth Anniversary of Armistice Day
at the Cenotaph, City Hall
Sunday, November 11th, 1934, at 3 o'clock p.m.

MN TA01.151
Archbishop McNeil Fonds

MN TA01.151
Archbishop McNeil Fonds

MN TA01.151
Archbishop McNeil Fonds

MN TA01.151
Archbishop McNeil Fonds

The program contains a prayer that is needed as much now as it was then:

"Almighty God, from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed; kindle, we pray Thee, in the hearts of all men the true love of peace, and guide with Thy pure and peaceable wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the earth; that in tranquility Thy Kingdom may go forward, till the earth is filled with the knowledge of Thy love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Bonus photo from the City of Toronto Archives: Armistice Day, Bay and King Streets

November 11, 1918
Fonds 1244, William James Family, Item 891D 

Record of the Week: A letter from the firing line

Today is Remembrance Day and we have chosen a record from the First World War to commemorate 100 years since the beginning of that great conflict.

ARCAT has a series of letters written to Archbishop Neil McNeil from a Toronto soldier with the 3rd Division of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. Gunner Gilbert Sim had been studying for the priesthood before enlisting in 1915.  Periodically, Sim wrote to the archbishop of the conditions in the trenches, asking for His Grace's remembrance and blessing:

"August 1916...I am now at the firing line.  I have had many adventures since leaving Toronto but my heart ever turns to that fair city to which I feel I belong.  Day and night a constant stream of troops, wagons, and timbers are moving up the line. It is very sad to see the beautiful  churches all blown to ruins.  Of course I cannot write much.  I beg your Grace will remember me.  I am learning lessons in the very hard school in which I find myself..."
First World War, FWGC02.04

After being in action during the Battle of Arras, the storming of Vimy Ridge, and the taking of Passchendaele, Sim wrote of his desire to be discharged.  He wanted to continue his clerical studies in order to return to the front as a military chaplain.

You can see Gilbert Sim's personnel records on the Library and Archives Canada website, and search the digitized records of soldiers of the First World War.

Archbishop Neil McNeil was the ordinary of Toronto during the Great War and he is known for defending the Pope's neutral position.  McNeil is also credited with delivering one of the war's shortest patriotic speeches to a Toronto regiment about to be deployed.  At the non-denominational meeting he simply said:

“You are tired and anxious to spend these last hours with your friends and I will not keep you long.

If I were a young man I would be going with you. But I am an old man and must stay home.

Keep yourselves physically fit to fight and spiritually fit to die. God bless you.”*

*Boyle, George. Pioneer in Purple (Montreal: Palm Publishers, 1951), pp. 139-40.

New exhibit on Military Chaplains

Today, St. James Anglican Cathedral in Toronto opens a new exhibit to mark the centenary of the Great War.  Called to Serve presents records and artifacts from chaplains of numerous faiths serving Canada's military from the nineteenth century to present day.

ARCAT contributed photographs to the exhibit, including the image on the poster below.

According to the media release:

"The first ever of its kind in Canada, this exhibit will chronicle and pay tribute to the
brave service of the padres who donned battle dress and joined members of the armed
forces on the front lines of past wars and still walk with them today in regions of armed
conflict and natural disasters. Unarmed and often working alongside medical field
personnel, chaplains lend spiritual support to fighting troops, comfort the wounded and
bereaved, console the dying and provide dignified burial for the dead. They also care
spiritually for the families of military personnel. 

"Reaching back into history, the comprehensive display will chronicle the Canadian
chaplaincy’s evolution from its largely Christian origins before the Boer War to the
inclusive multi-faith mosaic of men and women it is today. Called to Serve will tell its
powerful story through photographs, paintings, press clippings, posters, letters, poems,
uniforms, insignia, embroidery, liturgical apparel and artifacts, as well as testimonies
from across generations and across the land."

If you are looking for a unique way to observe Remembrance Day, stop by this unprecedented (and free!) exhibit in the heart of Toronto from now until November 16th.

Record of the week: Catholic military chaplains serving our soldiers

On June 4, 1944 - two days before D-Day - Rev. Michael J. Dalton, Chaplain of the 4th Brigade,
celebrates Mass for soldiers, using a jeep as a makeshift altar.
PH 09W/11P