McCrae House and Woodlawn Memorial Park: Remembrance Day 2010 Services

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie, 2010

Remembrance Day is observed all across Canada through various services and memorials. Two that I had the pleasure in taking part in today were the services at the Colonel John McCrae Birthplace and Memorial Gardens and the Woodlawn Memorial Park Veteran’s section in Guelph, Ontario. 

Well, the weather could not have been better this Remembrance Day in southern Ontario. Usually I am putting up with the BC Coast or British rains that usually come on this day. But today was sunny and warmed up throughout the day. The first ceremony took place at McCrae House with the 9am Flag Service put on by the Royal Canadian Legion’s John McCrae Branch here in Guelph. About 200 people came out to witness the service and listen to the words of Reverend Smeaton as he recited a few prayers and, of course, ‘In Flanders Fields’. The Ham Radio Society of Guelph was also on hand to demonstrate to visitors the wonderful world of ham radio operations. Then, at 10:45, the students of John McCrae Public School, just down the road from the Museum, came by to put on an assembly for the crowd gathered. McCrae House was open to the public free of charge today and visitors got to wander through the exhibits. There are a number of residents who make McCrae House a Remembrance Day tradition and not all of them were from Guelph. Some people came as far away as Windsor to be at McCrae’s birthplace to celebrate this day. I spoke to a number of people in the crowd and asked them to tell their stories about their fathers or grandfather’s war experiences. Some stories told of men and women fighting with the Canadian Army at Normandy, or with the Canadian Navy in the Battle of the Atlantic, or the Royal Canadian Air Force in North Africa. One woman, named Susan, who said she just turned 60 last week, broke down into tears as she talked about her father who was a Spitfire pilot that ended up in a prisoner of war camp in Burma. She told me that he came back from Asia malnourished and anorexic and her mother would wake him up every two hours at night to make sure he was still alive until he began to gain weight back. He passed away 10 years ago and she makes the pilgrimage from Cambridge every year to McCrae House to remember him and everyone else who has served in the theatre of war. There are literally thousands of stories out there and I find most people like to be asked about their loved ones experiences. This reaffirms to many people that talking and sharing stories is important to remembering.

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie, 2010

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie, 2010

Then I was off to Woodlawn Memorial Park (formerly Woodlawn Cemetery) on the other side of the city to witness the Remembrance Ceremony attended by approximately 350 people. This was a special ceremony as it was dedicated to a group of brave men and women who haven’t gotten much press for their war contributions. This group is the First Nations Peoples of Canada and particularly to the Cree Nation, who were celebrated today at Woodlawn.

There was one particular Cree native who was honoured. His name was Private Thomas Sutherland and he came from a small community called Albany, in the region of James Bay. He came from a trapping family and he had two brothers, Alastair and James. The three brothers left their James Bay home and trekked south through the snow and wintery conditions to enlist for Canada in the Great War. The Canadian Army was not particularly receptive to recruits of a non-white, non-European background. However, the country was getting nearer and nearer to conscription (which did occur by 1917), and decided to accept First Nations volunteers. Sutherland soon found himself on a troopship to Europe and in no time was fighting in the trenches.

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie, 2010

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie, 2010

Sutherland became of one the countless gassing tragedies of the Great War. His lungs had been burned and weakened by repeated attacks of mustard gas. But that wasn’t all. Deep within his lungs, was the ticking time bomb of tuberculosis, which no doubt had been accelerated due to the mustard gas. Sutherland ended up back in a sanatorium in Guelph where he died in 1919. Because he had tuberculosis, there was great fear in its spread to others, so he was buried in Woodlawn the same day he died. He died far from home from complications sustained in a foreign land. But today’s ceremony was largely about honouring him and his Cree brothers and sisters who answered the call of duty to serve Canada in war. A sugar maple tree was planted in the veterans section to honour all First Nations war veterans and Lois McDonald (Little Black Bear) and Jan Sherman (She Who Cares About the Healing of all Peoples) of the Cree Nation, led their fellow drummers from the Guelph Women’s Drumming Group in performing ‘The Eagle’s Song’ over the grave of Private Sutherland. It was a very moving service and a reminder to those present that all nations and cultures who have served Canada are to be remembered with respect and honour.

On the way out, I wanted to make a special stop. I have been asked often about the family of John McCrae and if they are buried in Guelph. They are actually buried here at Woodlawn together. John McCrae is not here, he lies in Wimereux France. But after his death, his family added his name to the family leger slab that is at Woodlawn. Here, his parents, grandparents, great grandparents, distant uncles and aunts are buried close together. The family plot is located along the Woolwich Rd. side near the office and there is a sign clearly identifying the family plot.  John McCrae came from a very dynamic, well respected family in Guelph. They were large scale cattle breeders and woollen mill operators. In fact, the McCrae Woollen Mill in the 1870s and 1880s was such a big business that 250 people had been employed, making it one of the Guelph area’s largest employers. So to stand among the old family names is to be standing among major players in the development of Guelph. Here are the pictures of the family markers below.

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie, 2010

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie, 2010

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie, 2010

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie, 2010

My thanks to the staff of McCrae House which include Katherine McCracken, Val Harrison, and Ken Irvine for sponsoring a fantastic day and to the staff of Woodlawn Memorial Park for organising a very moving service.

Military History First Nations Veterans, Guelph, John McCrae, Ontario, poppy, War remembrance