When qathet region resident Mike Cunning began to research his family history, specifically William Angus Cunning, his great-grandfather, he found not only old photographs and war memorabilia, but a type-written account of the Second Battle of Ypres (Belgium), which took place in April and May of 1915. This was Canada's first major engagement in World War I, which was fought with determination, but resulted in heavy human losses.
Mike said he found the type-written article among his grandfather's things after he passed away, and what he read would make anyone's heart break for the young men who faced horrific events while stationed overseas.
The article title, Ypres, recounts the important part played by the second Canadian Infantry Brigade and fifth Canadian Battalion in the Second Battle of Ypres, where lethal chemical weapons were used by the Germans. There were an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 Canadian casualties at that particular battle, which spurred Canadian officer John McCrae to write his poem In Flanders Fields.
Served in World War I
"William Angus, my great-grandfather and his five oldest boys, including my grandfather Howard, all went to World War I," said Mike. "As soon as the war broke out, everyone would have put their names in to be deployed."
Willam Angus was a staff sergeant with what was then called the North-West Mounted Police and retired as RCMP inspector in 1932.
"They were all calvary men," said Mike. "My grandfather was with the fifth calvary."
Known as the Western Calvary or Fifth Battalion, most of the men were from Saskatchewan and deployed to Europe during WWI. Mike said he learned how important horses were during the war, due to the floods and muddy conditions in battlefields and towns.
"They didn't have cameras, so the quickest thing to do was grab a postcard and throw it in the mail," said Mike. "That was common practice back then."
The tiny postcards had photos depicting wartime images on them, such as Salisbury Plain, a key training base for the British Army located in central southern England.
Brave young men
"I know from talking to my grandfather that men from the Commonwealth countries, such as Canada, volunteered right away when the war broke out," said Mike. "Crowds of different people from all over would be put in barracks for training purposes."
Mike said what he learned from his research was that men like his grandfather would move barrack to barrack until finally they were close to the front line.
"That was in west Belgium, when the Germans used the first chlorine gas attack," said Mike. "It's very poisonous and would have been agonizing."
Chemical warfare
According to the National War Museum and Memorial: "On April 22, 1915, at 5 pm, a wave of asphyxiating gas released from cylinders embedded in the ground by German specialist troops smothered the Allied line on the northern end of the Ypres salient, causing panic and a struggle to survive a new form of weapon."
Luckily, Mike's great-grandfather and his sons, including Howard, Mike's grandfather, made it back to Canada.
"The one photo the whole family is proud of, is the one where they are all back from the war," said Mike. "They all managed to get back."
Protecting BC's coast in World War II
But, that's not the end of military history and service for Mike's family. His father Cecil served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) as part of the war effort during World War II, to protect BC's coastline from enemy vessels.
Historian and author Catherine Gilbert said that: "During World War II, the Canadian army, navy and air force each constructed their own boats and ships to be employed in the service of the war. Many of these vessels, as well as fishermen’s boats and other commercial vessels commandeered for the war effort, patrolled the west coast."
After the attack on Pearl Harbour in 1942 by the Japanese military, western Allies including Canada were concerned that Japan and Germany may be preparing to attack the west coast of Canada/USA. Mike's grandfather Howard was deployed to one the vessels where crews would be tasked with duties such as mine-sweeping, watching for enemy submarines, laying cable, bringing supplies to coastal defence sites, towing targets and transporting military personnel. Some of the vessels eventually went overseas.
"They (RCN) confiscated some of the bigger fish boats with some of their crew, because they knew the coast well, and they knew all the currents and things like that," said Mike. "They put a couple of guys like my dad on the boat, with a machine gun mounted on the front and [crew] would roll depth-charges off the back."
Patrolling on horseback
Before the two wars came along and disrupted life for everyone involved, in 1887, Mike's great-grandfather William was tasked with patrolling along the Canadian-American border as one of his first duties as a member of the North-West Mounted Police.
"He was just like the Lone Ranger out there," said Mike. "He did a lot of horseback camping all over Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba."
Mike said when William retired, he was given the distinction of being the longest serving member of the mounted police.
"He's 45 days short of 45 years," said Mike. "He retired as an inspector in 1932 with the RCMP."
Time of reflection
Mike said now that he's older and has learned in more detail about what his family went through during the world wars, he reflects more seriously on November 11, Remembrance Day.
"Being in the trenches, you'd never want to do that, especially with the gas and the conditions they went through," said Mike. "But, what I think about is that times haven't changed that much; we have a big war in Ukraine, a big war in the Middle East, and in Africa."
Mike believes that, although Canadians have more rights now and the quality of life has improved, they shouldn't take them for granted or think circumstances couldn't change.
"It's important to understand how ugly war is," said Mike.
To see information and photos of the Cunning family, go to veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2850702.
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