ADVOCATE HARBOUR, N.S. — As important as it is to remember those who lost their lives on foreign battlefields, Dara Legere said it’s also important to honour those soldiers who carried their wounds and illnesses back home with them during the peace.
Speaking during Remembrance Day ceremonies in Advocate Harbour on Nov. 10, Legere, who led the effort to add 10 forgotten names to the cenotaph in Joggins last year, said the community, like many other rural areas, played a big role in sending young soldiers to the frontlines of the First World War.
During an enlistment drive in 1915 and 1916 by the 193rd Battalion, more than 100 men were recruited between Parrsboro and Advocate Harbour. But when the soldiers that survived the horrors of the trenches of the Western Front returned home, some of them brought their injuries and illnesses home – only to die and be buried in Cumberland County.
“Over the course of four years of war at least 15, and possibly more, of this area’s sons paid the supreme sacrifice for their effort to make the world a better place to live,” said Legere, vice-president and secretary of the Joggins branch of the Royal Canadian Legion said. “For at least 10 of them the war ended on a battlefield in France or Belgium, or maybe a hospital in England, thousands of miles from home.
“But for the other five, their war didn’t end in Europe. They came back home only to suffer in the friendly confines of their home community. We don’t have to travel to Europe to see the graves of some of the young men who died in the service of our country. Many are buried right here in our communities.”
Legere said Blair Cole died in Advocate Harbour on March 4, 1919. He was only 20. He was wounded in France and sent to England and later Halifax, contracted tuberculosis and died.
Colbert Loomer is also buried in the graveyard that overlooks Advocate Harbour. He died at age 27 on Sept. 5, 1920 – also from tuberculosis – and is buried near Harry Taylor of Apple River, who died on July 19, 1921.
Taylor was 18 when war broke out in 1914. He enlisted and was sent overseas where he became seriously ill while stationed in England. He never recovered, was sent back to Canada and died.
Horace Smith was only 18 when he died on May 19, 1919. He was wounded at the Somme in 1916. He began to show signs of tuberculosis, was transferred back to Canada and after losing 22 pounds succumbed to his illness.
There was also Clifford MacCullough of Apple River. He died on April 13, 1916. He never made it overseas. He became ill while training in Springhill and within a couple of days of being diagnosed with pneumonia. He was 22.
“We have all seen photos or maybe visited a Canadian War Cemetery in Europe,” Legere said. “You see the distinguished Canadian headstone made from white marble emblazoned with the maple leaf and the soldiers name, rank and regimental number. Those same style headstones are visible in our community cemeteries. They are made from light gray granite rather than marble but bear the same distinguished Canadian markings. These are the graves of Canadian veterans. Some are those of veterans who died many years after the wars and some are those who served in peacetime. But there are a few of those who died as a result of war and these few are recognized by the Commonwealth Graves Commission and the Government of Canada as having died while in the service of our country.”
Last year, Legere said, the graves of First World War veteran were marked by the students of Advocate with Canadian flags to commemorate their service in the war. While Remembrance Day is the time many think of the service of veterans, Legere said, they should be remembered all year.
“Next spring, when it is possible once again to stroll through our cemeteries, please search for a veteran’s grave and pay your respects to a fallen hero,” Legere said. “Some of our veterans have the distinct style headstone so they are easy to find if you want to. Take a small Canadian flag with you and place it at the headstone and say a simple thank you to a veteran.”
Arden Fletcher, who served as a peacekeeper in the Middle East with the United Nations in the 1950s, said Legere’s comments hit home. He stressed the need to remember those who came before and gave their lives.
“We must remember,” he said. “Time may slip by and our memories slip by with that time but it’s important that we continue to remember because it’s not over yet. I’m so afraid history could repeat itself, it’s only a matter of time.”
Fletcher said it was heart-warming to see so many people at the ceremony in Advocate Harbour, especially younger people. He said it’s up to today’s generation to carry forward the obligation to remember and honour the sacrifice of those who died in two world wars, Korea, various peacekeeping missions around the globe and in Afghanistan.