Special Commemorations & Celebrations - 2006

This year commemorates some important historical events—the 150^th anniversary of the prestigious Victoria Cross, the 80^th birthday of the Royal Canadian Legion Charter and "The Year of The War Bride".

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How One Air Cadet Squadron is Honouring Veterans...

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The Victoria Cross - 150 Years of Valour

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Canada’s Forgotten Hero

It is an unfortunate fate of the courageous, legendary and infamous from our country that they should receive most of their accolades from international sources. Why do we shy away from bolstering Canadian self-worth? Perhaps it stems from not warring for distinctiveness like the Americans did, or maybe it is because our original identity was too closely knit within the matrix of the British Commonwealth. Whatever the cause, hopefully future generations will stand guard against further proliferation of this national shame--for far too many important natives of our great county have fallen into apathetic obscurity.

William George Barker was one such citizen, yet, by the end of WWI he was Canada's and one of the British Commonwealth’s most highly decorated war veterans.  William "Billy" Bishop--the legendary Allied Flying Ace--called Barker "the deadliest air fighter that ever lived."

What was described to be one of the most daring dogfights of WWI occurred on  October 27, 1918. Barker observed an enemy two-seater over the Forte de Mormal. He destroyed that craft but was attacked immediately by a Fokker biplane. As fire exchanged between the two, Barker was wounded in the right femur yet despite this, managed to overcome the assault and sent his aggressor downward into a spiraling inferno.

Next he found himself within the middle of a large enemy formation.  It looked as if he had disturbed a hornet's nest  for about 60 Fokkers, began attacking from all directions. Again Barker was wounded but succeeded in driving two more enemy planes into a tailspin. He briefly lost consciousness from losing blood, leaving his own machine falling out-of-control. Somehow a rush of air revived him, only to find himself being attacked once more. He singled out one craft which he deliberately charged at driving it into flames.

During this action his left elbow shattered and he blacked-out again. He regained consciousness to find himself still under siege. Then in spite of the pain, and critical wounds to both legs and arm, he dove at the closest machine shooting that down too.

He was exhausted as he dropped away from the fight to regain safety behind allied lines but was cut off by yet another formation. After an additional hard-won air struggle he successfully reached friendly lines where he crashed on landing. He was pulled from his plane injured but alive.

A picture of Barker's crashed landing...

Bold & Brave - Billy Bishop

A Remembrance of John McCrae

John McCrae was the son of Lieutenant-Colonel David McCrae and Janet Simpson Eckford McCrae. Born in Guelph, Ontario on November 30, 1872--he was raised to respect religion, the service of mankind and had a fondness for animals.  John began writing poetry at a young age. By 14 he joined the Highfield Cadets Corps, and graduated from Guelph Collegiate at 16. He was a true academic and became the first pupil to win a scholarship to the University of Toronto. When he turned 17 he enlisted in the Militia field battery commanded by his father. John struggled with asthma and took time away from his studies to recuperate. During that period John became the assistant resident master at the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph where he taught English and mathematics.

He returned to Toronto and completed his Bachelor of Arts degree by 1894 after which he enrolled in the University of Toronto Medical School. Throughout 1890-1896 he maintained connections with the military eventually becoming a captain of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. He was a gunner with the Number 2 Battery in Guelph in 1890, became Quarter-Master Sergeant in 1891, he also served as second Lieutenant, and by 1896 McCrae was Lieutenant. 2 years afterwards John McCrae acquired his Bachelor of Medicine degree along with the gold medal from University of Toronto medical school.

During 1898-1899 he worked at Toronto General Hospital as a resident house officer. 1899 he then joined his brother Thomas in Baltimore at John Hopkins Hospital. John McCrae began his world-wide journey when the South African War began. He sailed off to Africa in December 1899 and during that time his true thoughts about the war surfaced. He still believed that patriotism and standing for one’s country was important, but was disheartened and disgusted over how the injured and the sick were treated. After being promoted to Captain and subsequently Major he resigned his duties with the 1st Brigade of Artillery.

In the early 1900's,  McCrae became involved with Montreal General and Royal Victoria hospitals working as a pathologist. Later he studied in England and became a member of the Royal College of Physicians. By 1905 Dr. John McCrae had opened his own practice while giving lectures at several hospitals. During this time he was involved with the Montreal Foundling and Baby Hospital. By 1908 he became a physician to the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Infectious Diseases. Both Thomas and John also became soul contributors to Oslers Modern Medicine, a 10-volume textbook which published in 1909. By 1912 John co-authored another textbook on pathology.

Weeks after August 4, 1914 when Britain declared war on Germany, 45,000 Canadians promptly joined up. John McCrae was selected surgeon to the First Brigade of the Canadian Forces Artillery with the rank of Major and second in command. John later wrote to a friend: