Remembering . . . . .

Remembering, honouring, thanking, respecting . . . . . all those that fought for us to be free.

The photo is of my Grandad, Leonard V. Davidson, b 1893 and served in WW1. He was sent to Ypres in his early twenties. My mum didn't know much about his war years, every time a family member would bring it up, my nan would shush them. So as a surprise for my mum, i ordered my granddads war records from England. She had no idea he was awarded 2 medals; no idea that he was gassed in France; no idea he was sent home due to illness from the gas; no idea he took ill a few times while overseas.

When i found out where granddad was stationed during the war, i researched it on the internet. Just reading the war diaries and reports from the soldiers, about the mud being 3 feet deep in the trenches; of the rats that would gnaw on your flesh if you fell asleep; of the rotten feet from wet socks and soaked leaking boots; of the guns that would jam up from the mud; of the cave-in of the trenches where they would rush to dig their comrades out; of the meals that were few and far between and the need for clean water so desperate. How did these boys - and yes a lot of them were boys - survive, what pushed them to fight everyday? Was it the thought of never seeing their family again? Was it that the man beside them was fighting so hard, and that he couldn't seem like a coward? Was it the superior officer yelling in their ears? Or was it just plain out pride. Pride for their country, their countrymen, and pride for themselves. I think it was probably a little of all of them.

One of Deans uncles, Charles Lazenby, was taken as a POW in WW1, but the records were lost during the blitz in WW2. All we know is that he was 2 years a prisoner, and was stretched on a rack! He came home in 1917 and suffered from arm problems for the rest of his life because of the rack. He was looked after at the Spadina Military Hospital, which is now part of the UofT, and he was there the same time as Amelia Earhart did her nursing service there. He died in 1934 - a broken man from all accounts. His wife and family left Canada and returned to England after his death. In fact, there was a story in the Leeds, Yorkshire newspaper that the Lazenby family sent 6 male family members to war, and all came home! I also have a copy of that.

Deans grandfather, Oliver Pearson, was signed up in Georgetown and send to Welland for boot camp. He wasnt a slim man, and probably did not find the basic training very easy. I managed to download a book on the 37th BN of the C.E.F. and it tells how they had to march from Welland to Barrie for deployment; and enroute stopped in Hamilton - and how friendly the Hamiltonians were - that they came out of their houses and bought the soldiers teas and biscuits. Oliver had only arrived in Canada in 1910 or so from Yorkshire, England and here he was heading back 'over home' to fight a war. So he gets to Bedfordshire in the UK, only to be sent home as 'unfit for duty, due to obesity'. I have a photo of him from the book, and he looked about 40lbs overweight.

Our only real loss in our family was my dads brother, who fell in Tunisia in WW2. He was only 20 years old when he passed. William Edwards, or Uncle Billy, as the family called him, looked like a teenager when he died. His parents never got over his loss, and installed a shrine to him in their home. He is buried in Grfax Cemetary in Tunisia - and yes i also have photos of his war grave, with my dad and my other uncle George standing beside it. On the day Billy died, 1700 british troops fell in that one battle. All his items were returned to him in a parcel, with a stamp saying "killed in action" on the top of it.

I have many more stories of my family and the war - and tomorrow i will tell the story of my mum being born in 1940 in wartime england - and the bomb that came through the roof - for now I will Remember, honour, thank and respect all soldiers, past and present. GOD BLESS YOU ALL.