11 Days of Remembrance: The Now-Known Soldier

A heard a fabulous story on the news last night. The unknown remains of a young soldier who had been killed in northern France have finally been identified. His name was Sydney Halliday, 22, and he was a private with the 78th Battalion Winnipeg Grenadiers. He and his brother came to Canada from England, and shortly thereafter, they enlisted and went off to war.

His remains had been found at the site of the Battle of Amiens, which is in northern France. He was one of eight bodies that had been found, and is the fourth or fifth to have been identified. Compliments of photos from the Department of National Defence, we also have a face to go with his name.

 Pte. Sydney Halliday

The Battle of Amiens commenced on August 10, 1918. It was the beginning of the end of the First World War. To think that he was so close to the end. A few months more, and it would have all been over. He could have gone home to his mother and said, "I made it. We survived."  His story would have certainly been a different one to tell.

We know that thousands upon thousands of Canadians served between 1914-1918, around 68 000, but rarely are we able to look upon the face of someone who had been sent to Europe to battle both enemies and fate. To have a name and photograph of even one makes it all seem more real. It's a means of connecting. We need that, especially since all of Canada's WWI veterans have since passed, and I doubt there are any surviving WWI vets left in the world.  

For more on Pte. Halliday's identification and story, follow the links to the CBC and CTV news sites below.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ww-i-canadian-soldier-s-remains-identified-1.2823869

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/first-world-war-soldier-s-remains-identified-as-young-private-from-manitoba-1.2087961