Centennial
Anniversary Event - April 1915 - The 1st Canadian Division’s Baptism
of Fire at the 2nd Battle of Ypres
By Joe Corrigan
As is the case with many Canadians who can trace their
family history in this country back to the 19th century or before, I
have an ancestor who fought in the Great War of 1914 to 1918. His name was
Charles O’Connor and he is my maternal grandfather. Charles was born in Whitby,
Ontario on May 9, 1894. He was a moulder by trade. On May 1st, 1918,
at the age 23, Charles O’Connor, serial number 809277, joined the Canadian
Army. After initial training at Camp Borden he was sent overseas and assigned
to the 15th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). He
entered the line in October of 1918, about one month before the armistice.
When Minister of Militia Sir Sam Hughes championed the
mobilization of the CEF in the late summer of 1914 he was determined to
organize the force by creating new numbered battalions rather than sending
existing militia regiments overseas. Despite this, regiments that were formed
in the 19th and early 20th centuries have become
inexorably linked with these numbered battalions. The 15th
Battalion’s battle honours are maintained by the 48th Highlanders
regiment of Toronto.
 |
| Pvt. Charles O'Connor, 15th Battalion CEF 1918 |
Despite only being in the line for a month before the end of
hostilities, Charles O’Connor took part in fierce fighting during a period that
came to be known as Canada’s “100 Days”. By this time in the war, Canadian
troops had earned a hard won reputation as one of the allied armies’ finest
fighting forces. Despised as “colonials” when they first came on the scene in
the fall and winter of 1914 / 1915, the Canadian Corps was now revered as “shock
troops”. Such was their reputation that, when the Germans learned that the
Canadian Corps was moving into a sector, they knew an attack was imminent.
During these last few weeks of the fighting, Canadian troops were at the
forefront of the advance and the 100 Days produced some of the highest casualty
rates of the entire war, a war in which an average of 6,000 people were killed
every day!
As with so many veterans of World War I, we know very little
about the experiences of Private Charles O’Connor during the war. He earned the
British War Medal and the Victory Medal for his service and received an
honourable discharge on July 11, 1919. Apparently was exposed to poison gas, an
encounter that would leave him with a cough for the rest of his life. He
returned to civilian life, married Maude McCauley a teacher, and settled into
life back in Whitby. The couple had three children, one son, Joseph and two
daughters, Mary and Theresa.
Officially, Canadian casualties during the four years of the
Great War are listed as 62,820 killed and 149,710 wounded for a total of 212,530
out of the 620,000 mobilized. That equates to a casualty rate of 34.3%. All
this was endured by a population of just over 7 million. That doesn’t take into
account those who died of the Spanish Flu which made its appearance towards the
end of the war and took many millions of lives worldwide. These numbers become
quite sobering when compared to the casualties experienced by our nation of 35
million during our 12 year mission in Afghanistan. During that campaign the
Canadian Forces suffered 158 killed, 615 wounded and 1244 injured in non-combat
related incidents. What our experience of Afghanistan has showed us is that the
psychological impact of war is much greater than the physical casualty rates
reveal. Many hundreds of the 40,000 Canadian veterans who served in Afghanistan
face daily challenges struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD.
Although the science of psychology existed around the time of World War I, an
understanding of what was known as “Shell Shock” in the day was not extensive.
My grandfather lost his job during the depression that began
in 1929. His wartime experiences came back to haunt him and he had to be
hospitalized. Although he lived well into the 1970’s, and despite the fact that
I was in my late teens at the time of his death, I never knew him. I saw him
once before he died in his nursing home on a visit to western Ontario with my
family. I remember he had a full head of white hair and that the nurses said he
was a very patient man but he had long since lost the ability to communicate.
What I later found out was that my mother, who was born in 1924, never really
knew him either as he was hospitalized when she was just 5 or 6 years old.
Though you won’t find the name of Charles Joseph O’Connor on the cenotaph in
Whitby, the war cost him his life all the same.
The fact that April 22, 2015 was the 100th
anniversary of the 2nd Battle of Ypres, the first time Canadian
troops were engaged in a major battle of the war, served to bring my
grandfather’s experiences to mind. 2nd Ypres was also the first use
of poison gas in combat. Despite the lack of gas masks, Canada’s 1st
Division fought heroically, improvised protection from the gas and blunted the
German advance, preventing a possible war losing breakthrough. It was at a high
cost however; our troops suffered over 6,000 casualties during the battle.
Steve Guthrie of CHEX Television News produced a two part segment on the 57th
Regiment of Militia, Peterborough’s militia regiment prior to World War I, and
the participation of local troops in the 2nd Battle of Ypres. The
two YouTube videos are posted on Lang Pioneer Village Museum’s Facebook page.
Other interesting documentaries on the First World War include historian Norm
Christie’s series entitled “For King and Empire” and the BBC documentary
entitled “The Great War’ which dates from the 1960’s and includes interviews
with people who experienced the events first hand. Canada’s History magazine
has published “Canada’s Great War Album” which includes historical perspectives
from a number of noted authors along with a collection of personal stories
passed down from descendants of the soldiers and others who lived in those
times. During the next three years, we will continue to mark notable
anniversaries of Canada’s involvement in the Great War.
 |
| Painting entitled "Gassed" by Sargent John Singer RA (Royal Artillery) depicting allied troops having been gassed and on their way to the hospital for treatment |
Joe Corrigan has been Museum Manager at Lang Pioneer Village since February of 2003. He has been a lifelong student of history. His specific areas of interest are Canadian and world political, military and sports history with a particular focus on biographical works. Joe has been interpreting Sir John A. Macdonald at the Museum's Historic Dominion Day event since 2007.
