By Geoff Smith (@GeoffSmithLNN on Twitter)

End of “Great War” 100 years ago had Lethbridge connections

Nov 11, 2018 | 7:10 AM

LETHBRIDGE – They called it the “war to end all wars.” And while we know that didn’t happen, the end of the First World War, then known as the “Great War,” brought a lot of celebration across Canada.

One hundred years later, local historian and veteran Glenn Miller is recounting the Lethbridge connections to the end of the war. Among them is Lethbridge’s own Brig.-Gen. John Smith Stewart, namesake of the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.

Miller explained Stewart, then in command of the 3rd Canadian Artillery, commanded the parade during the liberation of Mons, Belgium, as the Armistice took effect Nov. 11, 1918.

“And then, 50 years later, (he returned) to Mons for its 50th anniversary and was made an honorary citizen of Mons, one of four generals ever to do so,” Miller said. “He was very thrilled, and even in his older age, he could remember it like it was yesterday. It was very important to him.”

The final shot of the war was fired from an 18 pounder field gun by the Lethbridge-based 39th Battery.

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“That gun, along with another Canadian gun, a 4.5-inch Howitzer from Sydney, Nova Scotia, the 36th Battery, were actually gifted to the City of Mons by the Canadian government,” Miller said. But the gun is back in Canada on a five-year loan. It’s on display at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa as part of an exhibit on the Last 100 Days.

The field artillery pieces on display at Henderson Lake and at the Legion are actually German – trophies of war.

Looking back across the last century, Miller noted it took some time for the impact of the war to be felt on those who served.

“The country didn’t really look after the veterans. Pensions weren’t really considered at that time, and there’s been a challenge in advocacy for that ever since.”