Honouring Fort Rougers this Nov. 11

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/11/2017 (2898 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Remembrance Day is just around the corner, and while next year marks the 100th anniversary of the famous armistice that ended the First World War, there is another significant centennial this year.

The Second Battle of Passchendaele, which began on Oct. 26, 1917, came to a decisive end 100 years ago this Nov. 10. In all, Canadian casualties amounted to over 15,000, with over 4,000 deaths, in just 16 days of battle.

Canadians were involved in many of the biggest conflicts on what was known as the Western Front, with Vimy Ridge probably being the most famous, but Passchendaele was no less significant.

It was also there that many battalions from Manitoba made their impact.

Among them were Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Shilo, the 27th (City of Winnipeg) Battalion, and the infamous 8th Battalion, known as the Royal Winnipeg Rifles.

These battalions were manned largely by young men from around the city, which means any of the older neighbourhoods in Winnipeg would have been well represented, including South Osborne.

A quick search of those who were killed in battle or who died of their wounds yields names like: F.J. Fisher and Simon Fraser, who lived on Beresford; Jack Grant and John Hunter, who lived on Morley; or Alexander Doner who lived on Jubilee.

Winnipeg was, at the time, Canada’s third-largest city, so it should come as no surprise that many soldiers were Winnipeggers.

Some, like Robert Shankland, were awarded medals like the Victoria Cross, the British Empire’s highest award for military valour. Shankland was acknowledged for his leadership during the Second Battle of Passchendaele.

Canadians were often recognized for their bravery during the war, and it is said that, because of our relatively small population at the time, Canada lost the most men per capita of any country that participated in the First World War.

Of course support for the war effort was not universal across Canada. Support was especially low in Quebec, but the percentage of men who did not report or who defaulted when called upon was high in Winnipeg too, second only to Montreal.

It was the inherent inequality of who was called upon that caused many to default as the wealthy were less likely to be called up. Only a couple years later, the city erupted into the famous general strike of 1919.

There is always the fear that war is glorified or romanticized on days like Remembrance Day, and it is a legitimate one. But it is still possible to honour the sacrifice of those who would’ve been our neighbours.

Andrew Braga is a community correspondent for South Osborne.