Interesting, those old pictures. I have some of my great great grand mum (grandmother of my grandmother), they are at my mum's house. Don't know how old those pictures are, my grandmother was born in 1912. When I visit my mum next time I will scan them.
The oldest, and most treasured photo, we have is a shot of my grandfather before he left for Dieppe in WWII. My father was the youngest of 6 kids and wasn't born before his Dad shipped out so he never met him. All of us have copies of that photo around the house. We had a custom frame made for my Dad's copy and had his fathers medals framed in a border of our family tartan. Seems a shame to say that our oldest photo was taken in the 1940's but it's a pretty big deal for us.
A good friend of mine is a Director for the Juno Beach Centre. http://www.junobeach.org Every year he travels with a busload of veterans throughout many areas where Canadians served in the war. They tour battle sites and cemeteries. Every year he comes back and relates stories of the incredible numbers of people who stop and pay their respects to a busload of Canadian Veterans while they are touring, France, Holland and several other countries. No one has forgotten. As Canadians we scarcely think anymore of the impact that war had on those who lived in the middle of it. The folks who live in the countries affected by that war have the greatest respect for Canadian solders. And yet, if Canada had been occupied, I don't know that Canadians could have shown the same perseverance that the French and Dutch who lived in the middle of the war did. Those are the folks who really deserve respect.
WWII had a huge impact on Holland and other European countries. In almost every village you can find WWII monuments. In our little village Eede as well: http://standbeelden.vanderkrogt.net/object.php?record=ZE09ay
I find this fascinating! I never knew that it was the Canadians that liberated Holland! The Canadians did a LOT during the war with little recognition. This is a very cool story. The Canadians deserve the monuments and deserve more recognition throughout the world for their role in the war.
There are a lot of interesting little footnotes about WWI and WWII that seem to involve Canadians. In my small circle of friends 3 were history majors and one just recently retired from active service. Military history is life's-blood to our little group. Well...that and comic books. I had the opportunity to hear Maj.General Richard Rohmer speak at a Remembrance Day ceremony in Toronto in 2009. He's a really fascinating guy. He explained some of the story about how he was the one who located a fleeing Field Marshall Rommel in the closing days of the war. He tells the story in a manner that seems to hint that he felt that he was robbed of the chance to be the one who strafed the car which soured it a little for me. An interesting story nonetheless. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Rohmer
This is a long dead thread but it seemed an appropriate place for this. My sister is in Dieppe right now for the anniversary ceremonies on Saturday. She was the only person on the tour who had a direct connection to the Brookwood Memorial. She was interviewed by the CBC for The National and the BBC while she was at Brookwood. The War Graves Commission tweeted one of the interviews this morning. The CBC plans to interview her again on Saturday when she'll be participating in the memorial ceremonies. https://twitter.com/CWGC/status/898530294462009344
Wow that was moving. Your sister must be so pleased, moved and honoured to be a part of these ceremonies. I think I understand what she means about leaving your grandfather's name. I think it would feel like she was leaving him behind, alone, when she returns home. You must be proud of her for making the journey.
It's interesting to note, that Canada also manufactured war materiel, aircraft and some boats and ships during the length of the war, A) because of losses from the "Battle of Britain' bombings, and B) simply because Britain just didn't have enough facilities and raw materials on-island to make all of what they needed.
So my earliest family photograph (actually, three photos) is of my Grandpa Fred and his two brothers, who served in France in WW I. One of the two brothers (I forget which, I'd have to take it down and look) was killed in action and buried in France at one of the cemeteries. The back has either Grandma Ada's or Mom's handwriting, listing which cemetery and where his grave is located. I'll try to get a photo of the framed trio and post it up.
The brat thrown into the bug's trunk. That wagon looks like a former hearse. Or were they all that round?