Day 6 - Thelus and much much more....

Today we get our first look at the Vimy memorial from a distance as we are on our way to Thelus.  I know this area as good as anywhere in Europe, along the N17 and in through the beautiful little town of Thelus.  Each time I come my mood changes the closer I get....this morning getting ready I had to catch my breath because I could feel the emotions welling up inside me.  

The best I can do is say that this man who the kids are about to meet has changed my life.  I owe him a great deal of gratitude....my teaching career was completely changed and what I have become known for is all thanks to Charles John Clue, a man I have never met but have so much in common with.  

Today has been a day I have thought about for the past 10 years, I have dreamt of having an entire cemetery full of people and a grandiose celebration for these men in this cemetery.  I told the kids to dream big and even if the dream is not realized to a "T" it’s not considered a failure...what I mean by that is that over the course of 10 years I have wanted to have every soldier in that little cemetery covered by a student, well I fell well short of that today but eventually we will get there.  I've always said that for some reason magical things happen on these tours and today was no exception.

I've attended many ceremonies over the years and we've had plenty of things that we have watched at these ceremonies.... with a military swing to things I've seen paratroopers, military officials, flyovers, etc.; now  just bare with me as I tell you the story of our day.

As we approached the cemetery by our usual N17 route, I know it pretty well at this point in my life, I get anxious to think that I will soon be introducing Charles John Clue to yet another group of people.  The walk down to this rarely visited cemetery is always a thought provoking time for me.  As you can see by the picture, the guy in the black and the pasty white legs well ahead of the group is yours truly.  I always have the need to open the gate for everyone, almost a second home for me at this point, as well as being last out to close the gate usually with a sign off of “Until we meet again all.”

We let the students mill around and find their soldiers and help others find theirs.  Each school is leaving a letter and a plaque on the graves that they have been assigned as a sign of their remembrance.  This is where I personally know that the students get it….it’s not’s about shedding tears on any level, it is about recognizing the sacrifice that these men made and I can assure you that these kids are getting it.

After a little while, we gather the kids around grave II. D. 15. Corporal Charles John Clue.  I will give you the background on “CJ” in a bit.  I knew all along that today would be a very emotional day for me, it has been 11 years since I was first handed a parcel with attestation papers, medical records, last will and testament, etc. Papers that belonged to a man completely unknown to me by the name of Charles John Clue, from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, ironically the only Canadian province that I have yet to set foot in.  I talked to the students about Clue and he is the reason why we are here in France in 2017, in this

remote cemetery that is rarely visited.  I talked to them about the dream that I had of today, and how I feel that I let these men down, but not having a cemetery chalk full of PEI kids; but alas, it is not a failure at all….the success is in the fact that I got to introduce my friend to a new group of friends.  This marked the 7^th time I have visited his grave; first in 2006, then in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and now again in 2017, as I mentioned before, almost like a second home. 

Each visit a different group of friends, but always the same feelings of sadness mixed with happiness as I get the chance to tell his story once more.  Each visit a different gift, 2006 was the gift of telling his story, then each subsequent year a new gift that ranged from a Vimy Pilgrimage medal, a commemorative coin form Vimy, a loonie and a toonie and my personal favorite a Boston Bruins pin…I mean come on, he must have been a Bruins fan!!!  This year however was my biggest challenge, I felt like I had nothing to give him.  I have said before that I would bury my Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal at his grave site because I didn’t deserve a medal, I don’t even like talking about it, but people have said that I should keep it just for my family’s sake.  So what they heck kind of a gift do I bring this time…I am at a loss and have no more time to decide. 

Then the “Ah Ha” moment that is famous among us teachers as  a teachable moment, but in common-speak it is loosely translated as “Holy Crap, you mean to tell me the answer was right there the whole time, right in front of my frickin face?”.  This moment came to me at the end of my shower, used both to clean my body and the cobwebs from my mind from lack of sleep……I have my gift for CJ, I have had it all along.  I got this thing today no problem!!

I told the kids about where he was born in England, and that he immigrated to Canada early in the 20^th century, was employed as a butcher, and was compelled to go back to Europe to fight for King and country, more his King and country than many other Canadians at the time, but still many were in the same position as he was when he enlisted.  The students noticed that he was 29 when he died, considerable older than many others in the cemetery and other sites that we have seen.  I told them of my first trip to the area and how my mentor Blake Seward took me through the adjacent fields and talked about the advancing 21^st Battalion and how they were moving towards the ridge on the morning on the 9^th April and they took on fire from the Germans probably somewhere just in behind where the cemetery stands today.  It was there that Blake told me in no uncertain terms that this is probably where Corporal Clue and others died that morning…that cold Easter morning; brothers in arms, comrades till the end, but alone away from their families and comforts of home on a foreign soil, never to return again.  They died for a cause in a battle that would become a defining moment for a country he never knew, it seems so sad to me and I owe CJ and these men a lot.  That is was I want these kids to get out of this, a sense of gratitude, a sense of pride in their country, and a sense that sometimes the greater good is achieved through great sacrifice.

You are probably waiting for the gift, I know I tend to go on and on in this blog, my wife tells me so and so does my Dad(Happy Birthday to my Dad, Ron Chisholm…he’s an April 9^th baby…a Vimy day baby….another connection I’ve always thought of), now back to gift.  The gift I have to give him today was the most precious to date, even more so than the Bruins pin.  My gift to him was introducing him to my daughter Mya, I’ve thought long and hard about how these trips take me away from my family, and they have always been accepting of this; so my gift for him today was to meet a wonderful young lady who I am extremely proud of every day. You see Clue never married and had no children(that I know of!), but it is because of him that I

got that chance he never had.  He and others fought so that we don’t have to.  I told the students in my last words that were coherent, that our family ,like many others, have had a rough year when it comes to loss, we lost Mya’s grandmother…Julie’s mom, this past September.  Grammie always remarked about how proud she was of what I did with the kids in Europe on these trips.  So today was something that I have waited for for a long time, a chance to introduce my own daughter to a man that has changed my life.  Max, little buddy(who’s basically as tall as I am now) your time is coming and Julie yours as well….we all need to meet this long time family friend of mine who resides in the fields just below Vimy Ridge.

I know many of you wish I was done at this point, but it only gets better.  I realize it seems like hours ago when you started reading the blog, but do you remember when I talked about having a large and grandiose ceremony and thought I failed…well it just so happens that for the first time ever we have someone with a beautiful voice and a song so appropriate you would cry…that voice is Stacy Thain and she is going to sing beside CJ’s  grave.  She is singing the song she wrote for Remembrance Day and is now used all over the world by the Canadian Legion.  Every ceremony needs a song. We then get all the kids to stand in front of their soldiers for a minute of silence.  What a moving experience!    Then in the fields adjacent to us, a group of 4-5 paratroopers come falling out of the sky…they always add to a great ceremony…...things are coming together!!!  Sorry we didn't get any pics...not another fish story either...all true....I swear!!

Off  in the distance is a long strand of red coats coming down the laneway to the cemetery.  Wait, another group?  We were assigned this cemetery, how dare anyone else come here…lol!  The again more people just what we need to recognize all of the soldiers….it was a school from Toronto took a wrong turn and then saw this cemetery and decided to investigate, their TD asks me to tell my story again because she knows it….I give them the short version and get them to wander and a group we decide to gather around the monument in the middle and sing O Canada together…I am quite the organizer of a major ceremony(EF should really hire me!)  Callie Thompson of Kinkora leads us in a beautiful rendition of our National Anthem, which is a staple of any ceremony of remembrance.   Only seconds after the anthem was done, out of the trees to the left of the cemetery, no less than 3000 birds flew over head and created quite a stir and a noise….our military fly over!!!! Another staple of any ceremony!  People, I kid you not that all of this happened today….you can ask any of the others….it was almost magical!(The Wildcats would have seen my smile a lot today!!) You can see the beginning of the flock in this pic by accident.

As the kids now start to file out and head back up the walkway to the bus, there are only a couple of us chaperones left, remember I need to open the gate and close the gate…only rules I have here.  As we begin to walk towards the bus I notice two cars pull off on our side of the road and out steps military personnel.  AS they approach us we stop and chat, the person in the lead is none other than Lieutenant-General Paul Wynnyk, Commander of the Canadian Army.  We now have our current military represented today….we chatted for a bit and the Commander said that they had spotted the cemetery from the road and simply wanted to stop.  The symbolism of all of this to me is beyond…..we were able to sing songs for the fallen soldiers, their national anthem and a beautiful tribute, their comrades flew from the sky in a display of military tactics and expertise, something they would be proud of, the fly over by the 3000 or more birds that created quite a noise overhead, and the Commander of the Canadian Army to pay his respects to these beautiful young men.  There ceremony over….I think we did a pretty bang up job didn’t we?  Hard to believe all of that happened this morning, in actual time probably less time than it took you to read to this point!!! Haha

 It is my pleasure to introduce you to...Corporal Charles John Clue

Charles John Clue was born at Shepherd’s Bush in September 12 ,1885, the second of six children of Henry and Emma Jane Clue.  He was educated at a school in Hammersmith, England he emigrated to Canada in early 1910 where he found employment as a butcher.  Enlisting in the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force at Saskatoon in March 1916, he arrived in France as a newly promoted Acting Corporal in January 1917 and was posted to the 21st Battalion, Canadian Infantry. 

 On 9 April 1917, Charles John Clue went missing in action  as was later reported killed in action on the first day of the battle of Vimy Ridge. It was noted in the research that Clue had earned $33.10 in April 1917 and on 30 April 1917 his total earnings of $98.89 was paid to his mother, then of Shepherds Bush Road, London, England.  Later on his mother was alos presented with the British War and Victory Medals (204407 Cpl., 21-Can. Inf.)  and related Memorial Plaque (Charles John Clue) and Canadian Memorial Cross, G.V.R., officially inscribed, ‘204407 Cpl. C. J. Clue’, good very fine and better.

Clue was interred in a communal grave in Thelus Military Cemetery, which stands on Vimy Ridge.

Thank you for your ultimate sacrifice...... 

There is so much more left to our day and I am emotionally drained now…not sure how I will get through Vimy day tomorrow. 

The rest of our day will be spent with another 3000 or so students at the Artois Expo in Arras as the students get to experience the war in an educational expo that runs the gamut from militaryactors to virtual reality on the ridge and in the tunnels 100 years ago.  A gigantic thank you to EF for their work on this part of the tour and really many others.  This is a great way to get the students involved and also appeal to their generation and the sort of things that they like.  Once again a bang up job by the staff at EF for putting this together!!!

After a couple of hours at the expo, we are off to the Newfoundland Memorial At Beaumont-Hamel, one of the most beautiful and memorable parts of any tour that is wrapped around WWI and more specifically the Battle of the Somme.

Compared to our last visit to Beaumont in the pouring and driving rain, we are experiencing summer like conditions of 20C.  Whatever the weather, the experience of Beaumont is almost second to none when you hear the stories of the brave Newfoundland boys and the large number of casualties they incurred on July 1, 1916.  Which is why on July 1^st in Newfoundland, prior to their joining of Canada in 1949, that day was set aside as their a day of remembrance (since 1917), and even to this day the morning of the first in Newfoundland is widely recognized with acts of remembrance and then they party like the rest of us on our nation’s birthday.

This is my fourth trip to Beaumont and the stories of then men who died here that morning in 1916, which was a part of the greater Battle of the Somme, always strike a chord in my heart.  Although the same story is generally told each time I come here, hearing that not one street in the city of St. John’s in 1916 did not have a lost soldier on it, after the numbers were finalized.  In fact, of the 240,000 people live in the Dominion of NFLD at the time, 1000 men sign up to fight overseas.  On the morning of July 1^st, 25 minutes after the battle had begun the men left St. John’s road trench, and 15 minutes later, of the 780 that had gone over the top only 110 survived unscathed and only 68 of those could make roll call the next morning, it works out to an approx. casualty rate of over 80%.  They had about 250 yards to advance to lower ground, in a valley below no man’s land and they were unable to move that far.  Their objective was to get to the “Danger Tree” two and half footballs fields away and were unable to get there because of such heavy artillery by the Germans.

The entire memorial is centred on the famous caribou of the Newfoundland Regiment and it is simply beautiful.  I am always proud to come here because I always feel that both sets of islanders have many of the same qualities and it is truly a beautiful place.

I am starting to run out of steam and still have a ton of pics to edit and post.  I am hanging in the best I can, but need to be up at 6 AM again tomorrow.  So I will do my best!  Take care all and wish us luck on our trek to Vimy tomorrow.

Tribute at Thelus by Stacey Thain

Our eyes glistened with tears and our hearts filled with pride as David Chisholm taught our group about his personal history with Thelus. His message of gratitude and remembrance was truly moving. His message reminded us of the sacrifices that were made to ensure our freedom. Students had prepared letters and were able to visit the very resting place of Canadian soldiers that gave their lives for our freedom.    Never before have students experienced a more meaningful and authentic act of remembrance.       It was an honour and surreal to sing for students at Thelus this morning. After sharing the song with the Royal Canadian Legion years ago, "We Remember" travelled to lands that I had never seen. I could not be more moved and grateful to participate in such a  powerful tribute to those that gave their lives to ensure our freedom. As the tribute came to a close, hundreds of birds sang overhead, flying in unison as we all gazed up at the sky in wonder. With grateful hearts we leave Thelus, forever thankful for our freedom, changed and charged with the task of honouring those that paid the ultimate price for our freedom. 

Extra Pics....and minor story...because it already made Facebook.
I was kicking around in the field just prior to meeting the Lt. General Wynnyk.  I was walking with Dave Gillis from the Public Schools Branch and was telling him how if you looked long enough and dug around you could find a ton of small pieces of shrapnel.  Just as i was kicking and digging with my foot I noticed something that didn't look like a rock and i knew the nose of it and it wasn't a rock...I found him a rather large piece of shrapnel.