Great War Commemorations

The centenary of the Great War has begun. It will carry on for four years and then we will enter other eras to commemorate, from the Roaring Twenties to World War 2 and beyond. There is no date from now on that doesn't resonate in our collective modern mind. Perhaps this is because we all share the memories of our grand parents' tales, and so can go back ten decades in a sense of a shared experience. But I think there is something more than that. I believe the changes that came with the Great War have shaped and created our modern world, and and it is this sense of familiarity and recognition which makes us reflect on this particular centenary and the years to follow.

A commemoration is a collective act of remembering. Like a language there is a common understanding of meaning in the simplest expression, and in our world that is so full of pictures it is the visual expression of images that speaks the loudest. I have been captivated by the Canadian uniforms of the Great War and by the young soldiers who so often look eagerly at the photographer, their faces caught between cap and collar. 

This is the photo that first captivated me. It shows my grandfather, Grant MacLachlan, aged nineteen, proudly seated ( front right ) with his machine gun crew. Behind him is Reginald Elsworth Parrott, known as "Polly", who was killed on March 5 1916 when a German shell caused the trench to collapse on him. My grandfather went on to live a full life and has grandchildren who remember him. Perhaps I am the only person in the world who ever gives "Polly" Parrott a thought.

My son and I visited Parrot's grave near Ypres in 2006. Beside it is the grave of "Laddie" Millen who was sniped in the forehead on February 19, 1916. I believe he was the man my grandfather told me of when I was 12, whom he held in his arms dying, the top of his head taken off like a boiled egg, his brains open for the world to see. This is why we must remember.

Below is my son in a reproduction Great War uniform he wore for a high school film project. He could be my grandfather above, his smile a fraction of a second later.

My own quest for commemoration has taken the form of recreating Canadian Great War infantry uniforms and wearing them at commemorative events to put life into what we only know as sepia images. Old veterans have clasped my hand and said " thank you ", with tears in their eyes. I cross town to events, fully dressed in my gear and riding my old black bike, and my surprise appearance has elicited masses of positive reaction. Apparently something resonates in our collective consciousness. Everyone on a street corner has a tale to tell me from their family history. This has become my own act of commemoration.

With this blog I wish to provide sources for those who want to collect uniforms and accoutrements. I also hope to make something of a calendar of upcoming commemorations in my local area, and to give an account of how they turn out. By this perhaps I can inspire others to create their own commemoration.