Many of the stories of everyday Canadians participating in World Wars I & II have come to light in recent years due to the painstaking research of history enthusiasts. They are accounts of sacrifice, personalities, hopes, thoughts, family ties, and ordinary people doing extraordinary things. They are shared with us through writing, historical re-enactment and lectures in a manner that is often more enlightening than the telling of history via a recounting of dates, battles, motivations and viewpoints of generals and political leaders. One local woman from Dutton, Tracy Gordon, has taken on such a story-telling mission on many fronts.
Sewing period pieces led Tracy to become a historical re-enactor and a few years ago she joined a re-enactment group of WWI Nursing Sisters known as the Bluebirds. She is passionate about people knowing their own history, “We know what makes us Canadian but we need to remember what made us Canada.” She believes that re-enactment is one way to learn and educate about the past. She has sewn a vast array of costumes for other re-enactors and has devoted countless hours to taking part in a myriad of events locally, dressing in meticulously created period pieces, and sharing an infectious enthusiasm for history.
Tracy is particularly interested in the history of World War I and the battle of Vimy Ridge. She recalls that on a family vacation as a young girl, she met and spent an afternoon with Alberta Gregg, her great-great-grandmother whose son had been killed at Vimy Ridge at the age of twenty-one.
“It was too much to call her Great-great-grandma so she said just to call her Grandma Gregg. I remember sitting in the grass most of the day next to her aluminum lawn chair. I was captivated by this woman. She told me she was over 100 years old and at seven this seemed older than God!"
“I don’t know how the conversation started but I recall where it stayed. She shared her story of losing Charlie. At the time I thought he was her husband. I remember how she teared up. I remember how she asked me to remember Charlie. She made me promise.”
“It was too much to call her Great-great-grandma so she said just to call her Grandma Gregg. I remember sitting in the grass most of the day next to her aluminum lawn chair. I was captivated by this woman. She told me she was over 100 years old and at seven this seemed older than God!"
“I don’t know how the conversation started but I recall where it stayed. She shared her story of losing Charlie. At the time I thought he was her husband. I remember how she teared up. I remember how she asked me to remember Charlie. She made me promise.”
Above: Pte Charles Adam Gregg 835573 4th CMR Febr 1897 - April 17, 1917; Alberta Gregg wearing her Silver Cross, 1924; Tracy's great-grandmother Goldie and her younger brother Charlie taken around 1904
The story captured Tracy’s imagination and grew in her heart and mind over the years. Tracy says, "I became a historical seamstress and re-enactor. There were many eras that I enjoyed portraying and in 2005, I began to study the Great War. I wanted to learn more about Charlie and his service. It was really then that I felt I wanted to be more involved as a re-enactor. I soon located a group dedicated to the portrayal of WW1 nursing (a.k.a. the Bluebirds). I joined and learned even more about the sacrifice and service of Canadian women.”
In 2008, Tracy and her husband visited the Vimy Ridge memorial. Tracy remembers the emotional experience, “Looking at Charlie’s name on the wall, I knew how I could remember Charlie, honour Grandma Gregg and leave a new chapter in our family’s oral history for my own grandchildren.”
She set out to obtain permission to portray Alberta Gregg at the Vimy 100th anniversary commemoration as part of the delegation from Canada as a tribute to Silver Cross mothers who lost their sons in WWI. Unfortunately after a year and a half of letter writing, many communications and waiting she finally received an answer last week of no.
For Tracy, that answer is disappointing on many levels. She will still attend the Vimy Ridge ceremonies. For her, it is a pilgrimage and a once in a lifetime chance to remember and pay personal tribute. But she is disheartened that it seems the opportunity at Vimy Ridge to acknowledge a Canadian experience that played out thousands of times in communities across the country during WWI is being missed, a chance to highlight the story of the Silver Cross mothers, the loss of their children, and generations forever changed.
In 2008, Tracy and her husband visited the Vimy Ridge memorial. Tracy remembers the emotional experience, “Looking at Charlie’s name on the wall, I knew how I could remember Charlie, honour Grandma Gregg and leave a new chapter in our family’s oral history for my own grandchildren.”
She set out to obtain permission to portray Alberta Gregg at the Vimy 100th anniversary commemoration as part of the delegation from Canada as a tribute to Silver Cross mothers who lost their sons in WWI. Unfortunately after a year and a half of letter writing, many communications and waiting she finally received an answer last week of no.
For Tracy, that answer is disappointing on many levels. She will still attend the Vimy Ridge ceremonies. For her, it is a pilgrimage and a once in a lifetime chance to remember and pay personal tribute. But she is disheartened that it seems the opportunity at Vimy Ridge to acknowledge a Canadian experience that played out thousands of times in communities across the country during WWI is being missed, a chance to highlight the story of the Silver Cross mothers, the loss of their children, and generations forever changed.
Above: A letter from Charlie to his sister Goldie (Tracy's great-grandmother); a poem written by Charlie on his 20th birthday from the trenches
The major commemorations marking the 100th anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge will be a symbolic remembrance, for many, of the thousands of Canadians who made sacrifices in the many battles of World War I. Ideally the events would be, first and foremost, an opportunity to highlight the stories of the ordinary men and women who answered their country’s call. Accounts of their participation are filled with evidence of extraordinary ingenuity, modesty, pride, a straightforward determination to just get the job done, and the consequences to themselves, friends and family for generations to come.
Tracy’s memory of her promise to Alberta Greg to “remember Charlie” is still vivid. She feels an intense connection through time to Alberta and to the Silver Cross mothers of the Great War. Her quest to help commemorate, in an official capacity, the sacrifices of World War I from their perspective, has had somewhat disappointing results. However, her substantial efforts are, in themselves, a promise well kept.
In the coming week, Tracy will be posting photos and sharing her experiences at Vimy Ridge and at the 100th Anniversary commemorations. We will be including some of them here or you can follow her posts at https://www.facebook.com/tracy.gordon.923.
Top photo, Tracy as a nursing sister leaving CASO Station in St. Thomas during June 2016 commemoration of the 100 year anniversary of 91st Battalion departure for WWI. All other photos courtesy of Tracy Gordon.
Tracy’s memory of her promise to Alberta Greg to “remember Charlie” is still vivid. She feels an intense connection through time to Alberta and to the Silver Cross mothers of the Great War. Her quest to help commemorate, in an official capacity, the sacrifices of World War I from their perspective, has had somewhat disappointing results. However, her substantial efforts are, in themselves, a promise well kept.
In the coming week, Tracy will be posting photos and sharing her experiences at Vimy Ridge and at the 100th Anniversary commemorations. We will be including some of them here or you can follow her posts at https://www.facebook.com/tracy.gordon.923.
Top photo, Tracy as a nursing sister leaving CASO Station in St. Thomas during June 2016 commemoration of the 100 year anniversary of 91st Battalion departure for WWI. All other photos courtesy of Tracy Gordon.
The Memorial Cross
The Memorial Cross (more often referred to as the Silver Cross) was first instituted by Order-in-Council 2374, dated December 1, 1919. It was awarded to mothers and widows (next of kin) of Canadian soldiers who died on active duty or whose death was consequently attributed to such duty.
www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/medals-decorations/memorial-cross
The Memorial Cross (more often referred to as the Silver Cross) was first instituted by Order-in-Council 2374, dated December 1, 1919. It was awarded to mothers and widows (next of kin) of Canadian soldiers who died on active duty or whose death was consequently attributed to such duty.
www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/medals-decorations/memorial-cross