11 Days of Remembrance: Teaching the Teacher

If you've seen the picture from my previous post, you'll know that I have a few poppy pins to choose from. I was wearing one from my collection yesterday on my sweater when I went to work, and I was still wearing it when I went to see my boyfriend afterwards. During dinner, his mum took notice of my pin, which then sparked a conversation about Remembrance Day.

Those who know me understand exactly how I feel about the 11th of November. They would also be well aware that I'm always ready to talk about the single most important day of the year.

His mum, who's a retired teacher, was telling me about what her schools would do for Remembrance Day. She believed that if the students were going to be at school on November 11, then they ought to learn first hand why the day is so important. So, veterans would come in to speak to the students. Learn the history directly from the source. She also spoke of a non-fiction story she'd found that was written for children about Christmas in the trenches. I know that story as a song by John McDermott. I'm not sure if he's the original artist, but it's his version that I'm familiar with. It's about a one-night truce between the Germans and the Allies where they sang together, ate together, and shared stories and pictures from home. When Christmas Day had come to an end, the fighting started again. Imagine if that single truce had held what could have been!

I told her about my experiences selling poppies with veterans when I was a cadet, how you learn of little experiences that may seem mundane at first, but to them are of utmost importance. I shared my favourite story of Frank and Stan and the tattered pair of long underwear. I told her as well about the veterans I spoke to last year when I was writing "Confessions of a Poppy Hoarder" for the ARB. What didn't shock me, though, was her surprise regarding the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), and the war graves that coincide behind St. Paul's Anglican Church on Highway #6 in Mount Hope.

She had never heard of the BCATP, didn't know that Hamilton airport trained young men as pilots for war, and was unaware even more that sixteen men died in training at the airport, and are now eternally resting behind a church in a small town, except for two who were buried at a synagogue in Brantford.

It's not very often that those who teach us become the students, but when it comes to our history, especially local history, it's fulfilling to give knowledge to those who educate us. Now, not only does she know more about the city she calls home, but I'm certain she'll be sharing her new-found knowledge with others who share her profession.

For more, refer to the 11 Days of Remembrance miniseries from 2011 and 2012.