I admit, I was never interested in war history when I was growing up. In the last few years, however, my involvement in various projects commemorating the one hundred years since the Great War from 1914 to 1918 has made me understand and appreciate its impact on the modern world.
Politically, the First World War was like the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs — its aftermath saw the falling of every single empire run by absolute monarchies in continental Europe and set the stage for modern democracies and global decolonization. The war effort also became a catalyst for women’s equality leading to their right to vote and the general advancement of social health and welfare.
For Canada, it was a time when the young country discovered its ability to rise to the occasion, and in the process found an identity and pride beyond its colonial past. Canadians who at the beginning were pressed into service to be part the British Army, came home as part of a uniquely Canadian force. In the latter part of the Great War, the Canadians had formed their own command and became very efficient because of their casual and cooperative camaraderie rather than obedience to a strict hierarchy of rank.
In many ways, I see this type of non-elitist attitude reflected throughout my own journey in becoming Canadian. I look back to the many friends, teachers, colleagues and clients who in the last decades helped shape who I am today with their compassion and fairness. Someone always was there to help fight the battles with me. For that, I feel very fortunate and thankful.
I remember how studying Canadian history in high school as an immigrant had an "otherness" to it, or as some people put it bluntly "history written and about old white men". Even after becoming a citizen, I felt a slight detachment from this Canada-before-me, until one day I walked into the History Hall at the (then) Canadian Museum of Civilization, and lo and behold, they had recreated the circa 1960s-70s Vancouver Airport interior. I felt a strange familiarity walking in, as it was so reminiscent of the place I first set foot on Canadian soil. To me this was my Pier 21 (or to my American friends, my Ellis Island). The first thought that came to my mind was "My gosh, I AM part of Canadian history." Sadly that exhibit has been torn down, but I've since realized that there is no such thing as other peoples' history as we are all interconnected and related in some way.
Long winded and meandering thoughts indeed, but it is with these that I have framed my ride :)
One of my favourite projects this year was designing the banners that go around the National War Memorial. They are inspired by a painting called. "Return to Mons" by Inglis Harry Jodrel Sheldon-Williams, which hangs at the War Museum (and hereon featured as the blog's wallpaper).
I'd like to start a trip as a pilgrimage to Mons, which was the site of the last shot, and from there make my way down to Sarajevo where the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 triggered a catastrophe that tragically extinguished millions of lives.
I wouldn't want it to be just about the war though. I'd rather pick up frayed threads of history along the way and spin it into my own personal ball of string.
