Month: September 2017

Well, here I am again posting something before I go…just like I said I wouldn’t.

One of the things I’ve been mulling over in preparation for the visits to the grave sites of the five 10th Battery gunners killed in action is the notion of leaving something in remembrance.  The trip will be fairly close to Remembrance Day and I want to take this opportunity to leave a token of respect.

This has been a tough nut because I’ve immediately rejected flowers, although very traditional, they just don’t seem to do the trick and I have no idea of the availability of flowers etc where I’m going.  I’ve also considered poppies, or at least our Legion’s version of the poppy, but this seems too fragile and prone to about the same life span as flowers.   I’ve also considered leaving a small flag but this may be awkward as our current flag is not the flag they fought under….but….I’m still thinking about that.

While mulling all this over I recalled the last scenes from the movie “Schindler’s List”.  This involves a visit to the grave site of Schindler by the actual survivors who are accompanied by those who played their part in the movie.  It’s a fitting and moving end to the story.  What’s interesting is that each of the survivors places a stone on the grave.  I also saw this in another movie and it got me thinking…what’s the story behind leaving a stone on a grave.

Some of you know already that this is a Jewish tradition whereby the visitor positions the stone on the grave using his or her left hand.  The stone serves as a sign to others that someone has visited the grave as well as enabling those of the Jewish faith to obey the mitzvah of commemorating the burial and the deceased.

This to me is a very fitting form of remembrance, and one that I will borrow for my own commemoration, after all those we wish to remember are already beneath a stone and there is a long history of the use of stone to commemorate places and people.  A stone is a durable and fitting symbol of tribute to a person’s life and in this case, their sacrifice.

That’s it then.  I’ll take a stone for each grave site.  I’m currently sitting in the middle of the Frontenac Axis, part of the Canadian Shield, what better place to find an appropriate truly Canadian stone.

……….

A bit more mulling has gone on and I think I can do one better.  A friend of mine showed me some stones that had been painted by her grandchildren   Why not paint the stone with something Canadian on it.  I thought of doing a poppy but that’s a symbol of remembrance and that’s the whole point of the stone itself.  “I was here and I remember you”.  I guess I could also try painting a flag…but the flag they serverd under, the Canadian Red Ensign, is a terribly complicated thing to paint on a wee stone.

The answer though is quite simple.

A quite simple maple leaf…I think a red maple leaf…after all the maple leaf was a symbol for those Canadians serving overseas.  Campobasso, Italy, shortly after capture by 1st Brigade, was turned into an administrative and recreational site and was called “Maple Leaf City” by the British, Indian and Canadian forces that stayed there.  The Canadian armed forces newspaper is still alive and called “The Maple Leaf”.  It was first published on January 14, 1944 in Naples.  And….here’s a picture of the Vehicle Identification sign used by the 1st Canadian Division in Sicily and Italy.  It’s essentially the Divisional Patch (The Big Red One) with a gold Maple Leaf.  So there is a strong military tradition of the maple leaf reminding us of Canada.

………………

I’m back and I’ve done a bit of research on stone painting.  Seems that acrylic is the best type of paint but the stone should be thoroughly cleaned and also sealed with a varnish or sealant.  I’ve found a few stones, cleaned them up and borrowed a few ideas and some red acrylic from my artist daughter.  I’ve tried several small sketches by hand but I’ll clearly have to keep working on this.  An artist I’m not.

I decided to look for a real leaf as a model…we do have a number of them about us.  I found a few small sugar maple leaves that I think I can work with.  I pressed one of them flat and traced it on paper and cut it out.  I also tried free-hand based on the “model”.  This second picture is the result of that effort.  Who would of thunk painting on a rock could be so tricky…as I said…I’ll keep working on this.

That’s all for now…Out

 

I know I said I wouldn’t write further until I’d actually gone, but another bit of information has come my way, along with a special request.

Our friend Pat, a neighbour at the cottage, knows that I’m going on this trip and has asked me to visit the grave of her Uncle James who is buried in the Commonwealth War Grave in Catania, Sicily.  James is the brother of Trix who was Pat’s mother. The family home was in Brighton, England.

James was a Lance Corporal with the 1^st Battalion, London Irish Rifles (LIR), which at that time in Sicily was part of the British 50^th Infantry Division. He was killed in action on July 18^th, 1943.  From what I can tell about the 50^th Infantry Division at that time they were attempting to relieve paratroopers who were trying to take the Primisole Bridge on the southern outskirts of Catania.

If any of you know more about the specifics of the action that James might have been involved in please let me know as I know that the family would be interested.

The London Irish Rifles were a Territorial Army (TA) unit which is similar to our Canadian militia. We know that in July, 1940 James was employed by Lloyds Bank Ltd., in London and was engaged in “essential” banking services, although he may also have been part of one of the LIR battalions.

There is not much more known by the family but there is a coincidence that is rather sad.  On July 26^th Mrs Taylor received a letter from James.  It was dated July 18 ^th, the day he was killed. He wrote to Mum, Joyce and Trix at #4 Stafford Road, Brighton. “We’re all OK here and enjoying ourselves in our own way”.  He hopes they are not receiving more raids (bombing) and lets them know that two of his mates from London, Bert and Alf, are keeping him in stitches with there jokes.  He ends “All my love to you all. Ever your true loving son. Jim”.

It wasn’t until August 20^th that Mrs Taylor was informed that James had been killed in action on the very day he wrote the letter.

There were two other bits of correspondence to Mrs Taylor. The first told her that he had been buried at Boce Bottaceto, 4 miles SSW of Catania, near where he fell. The second told her that James had been reintered in Catania War Cemetary, Plot 3, Row E, Grave No. 32.  The family has a picture of Mrs Taylor boarding a Hunting Air Travel aircraft bound for Sicily and another photo of her standing behind James at the cemetary.  In the distance, directly behind her, is Mount Etna.

I will go and visit James and pay my respects.