It has been 93 years since the end of the First World War and the first Remembrance Day, but the day has never lost its meaning for the men and women who served our country in many capacities over the years.
In Barrhead, the Royal Canadian Legion has been a gathering place for veterans for years, and it’s where one can find men and women who served Canada in various international conflicts, such as Second World War veterans Alan Ewart and Wilfred Seal, as well as Cold War-era veteran Lyle Saumer.
For these three men, having served overseas has given them a first-hand appreciation for Remembrance Day and what it’s supposed to mean.
“Nov. 11 means to me a time of remembrance for what those gentlemen have achieved and given us, i.e. a free country, freedom of speech and a great place to live,” Saumer said.
It’s also in recognition of all that men like Ewart and Seal sacrificed to create the Canada we know today.
“Nov. 11 gives that time to pause and to give thanks to those gentlemen and those that never made it back home,” Saumer said.
The day also has an emotional impact on those people who had family and friends go overseas to fight and never return.
“It brings home the pain and suffering that a lot of people have suffered,” Saumer said. “They’ve lost their neighbours, their brothers, their sisters, their aunts, their mums and their uncles.”
For Ewart, who spent three years in England during the Second World War, Remembrance Day is a special time.
“Nov. 11, for me, gives me a chance to remember and think of my friends and relatives that lost their lives during the War and through it we are free,” he said. “We are very fortunate to be in a country that’s free.”
Ewart and Seal spent three years together in Yorkshire, England, from 1943-1945, serving with the No. 6 Bomber Group. There they would work on the planes that did regular bombing runs on locations on mainland Europe. Ewart worked on the four-engine Halifaxes, while Seal started on the Halifax before moving on to Lancasters.
Even though they were relatively safe in England from the ravages of war, its effects were never far from mind.
“We would see the bombers leave after we serviced them and we’d wait for them to come back and wonder how many would be missing,” Seal said.
On almost every run, there would always be some planes that never returned, he said.
There was even once when the war came to them, although on a very small scale.
“Only once we were raided by a single German fighter,” Seal said.
The reasons why each man joined to contribute to the war effort are varied, as were their ages.
Ewart was 19 when he joined in 1941, and did so because of something inside him telling him it was the right thing to do.
“I think I joined because I felt it’s my duty to join and serve my country,” he said.
Seal joined the RCAF in 1941 at the age of 20. His reason was somewhat more pragmatic than Ewart’s.
“If you didn’t join up, you’d have been drafted anyway,” he said.
It’s because of men like Ewart and Seal that Saumer said he felt compelled to join the military in 1961 at the age of 17.
He said he has a lot of respect for veterans of the Second World War and the Korean War and what they did.
“They gave their lives for their country, though they’ve lost their friends, their brothers, their sisters, etc.,” he said.
In addition to why they joined, the three men also talked about what it took to leave home to go overseas and fight, not knowing if they would ever see their loved ones again.
“I think most people figured it was their duty,” Seal said.
For Ewart, it’s something he believes was furthest from anyone’s mind when signing up.
“I think we all never even gave it much thought,” he said.
Saumer said he thinks of a chat he had with Smokey Smith, Canada’s last remaining Victoria Cross winner, who passed away in 2005.
“He said to me, the reason he joined was he didn’t think he would die,” Saumer said. “He joined because that was just accepted of him. Canada needed soldiers and these people stepped forward. That’s very simple.”
Saumer also hinted at how those young men felt duty-bound to act.
“You just went because you felt it was your duty,” he said. “You didn’t go for the glory because you didn’t think about that. You just thought, ‘well, I’m going to war and I’m going over to fight.’”
In the years since they enlisted, Ewart, Seal and Saumer all saw their lives change as they were sent to various places in Canada and around the globe.
As his first posting with the RCAF, Ewart ended up in Bella Bella, B.C., right on the Pacific Ocean on Campbell Island between Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands).
Seal, on the other hand, was not sent to such a remote location, but he still saw a lot of Canada before shipping off to England.
His first post was in St. Thomas, Ont., followed by stops in Moncton, N.B. and Weyburn, Sask. before making his way overseas.
For Saumer, his 25 years in the military saw him travel the globe. His first international posting was in northwest Europe from 1963-1966.
After that he was in Cyprus for six months in 1968. He followed that with a tour in southwest Europe from 1969-1975 before returning to Cyprus again in 1978.
Looking at Remembrance Day coming up on Friday, Saumer said he thinks it and all that it means is something that needs to be taught in school a lot more.
“There’s that old story that we never forget,” he said. “But it seems we no sooner say that and we’re off to another war or conflict or peacekeeping mission.”
