File photo of veterans at the Lethbridge cenotaph (Lethbridge News Now)

By Justin Goulet

Cenotaphs, Quilts of Valor and a special poem

Nov 9, 2020 | 6:05 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – What is a cenotaph?

Many people have seen one, but not necessarily everyone knows what it is.

“A cenotaph by definition is an empty tomb,” said retired Warrant Officer Glenn Miller, who volunteers with the Lethbridge Legion.

He told LNN that in Lethbridge, the cenotaph was erected thanks to funds raised by the community.

“It wasn’t bought by the city, it was bought by the citizens,” Miller said.

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He explained that when the cenotaph was first installed, it wasn’t necessarily known who was serving where and who passed away in the Lethbridge area. So, a request was put out to the community to bring forward names of those they knew who died serving Canada.

Those names were added to the cenotaph.

The flyer used in the appeal for adding WW2 names to the Lethbridge War Memorial and a boundary showing the geographical area to be eligible to have a name placed on the memorial (Photo provided by Glenn Miller)

“They also drew it as a geographical boundary,” Miller added.

“When the cenotaph was established, Lethbridge was much smaller in population than it is today, so it was also including the names of people outside of Lethbridge – as far north as Turin, south almost to Raymond, so it just shows a large example geographically…how Lethbridge and the area contributed [to] World War One.”

He explained that some communities did not have means to erect a cenotaph but have still shown their respect for veterans.

“Some communities didn’t have the means to erect a cenotaph with names but they would still erect a monument of some kind as a permanent reminder and that can be as simple as a bunch of field stones piled up in a triangle shape and it’s treated as holy ground for everyone to think of, not just on Remembrance Day, but year-round.”

QUILTS OF VALOUR

Quilts of Valour is a Canada-wide society that has volunteers sew quilts for veterans, with Miller saying he’s received one from the local chapter.

“It helps to make that whole remembrance year-round. I actually think of that when I’m under that quilt, when it is used, or I share it with others in the family – let’s stop and think of people who do exactly just that (serve and have served),” he said.

“You can never have served oversees but still [have] served a number of years in the military and that service is just as valued.”

A World War Two veteran receiving his quilt (Photo provided by Glenn Miller)

Each quilt is serialized with a patch featuring the veteran’s name. Further details can be found here.

IN FLANDERS FIELDS

Arguably the most famous war poem is In Flanders Fields, written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae.

The poem was first published on December 8, 1915 in the London magazine Punch.

“It’s ironic that it didn’t get published until it was in a British magazine. The Royal Canadian Artillery Museum actually has the original printing plate of his [the author] handwriting,” Miller said.

“That printing plate has been used to make copies; it’s been cracked over time. It doesn’t withstand the pressures today of printing, so there will be no more prints made.”

In 2018, after many years of hard work, the poem’s first-ever Blackfoot translation was unveiled.

‘In Flanders Fields’ translated in Blackfoot (Photo provided by Glenn Miller)

“Part of that translation is that they don’t have a word for poppy – it’s a red flower because we don’t have poppies in Canada. The literal translation is not there but the essence is there when you read it.”

The Blackfoot translation of In Flanders Fields can be viewed below.