City of Woodstock has named several streets to remember world wars, including a poppy on sign
Nov 11 also a day to pay tribute to Tyler Todd of Bright who was killed in Afghanistan
By
Mark Schadenberg
On
Remembrance Day it’s very important to take a few solemn moments to recall
Canadian heroes, and especially local military people, who lost their lives in
the many world conflicts. Thousands upon thousands died for us to enjoy our
freedom today. Many also returned home with wounds which could not heal.
The
Woodstock cenotaph (corner of Graham and Buller) is a tribute to those from the
Woodstock area who did not return home from war.
I
think of all the families with names engraved, but I also know of the more
recent local death in combat – 2010 of 26-year-old Tyler Todd of Bright, who was
a Huron Park Secondary School graduate. Private Todd was in Afghanistan (outside
of Kandahar) serving our nation and was killed by a roadside bomb. Woodstock
has a monument in Victoria Park with a specific notice referring to Tyler Todd
and those who died in Afghanistan.
Sadly,
the main reception hall at the Legion on Brant Street had been ‘’dedicated’ to
the memory of Tyler Todd, but the Legion Branch 55 is now owned by a local
church.
The
11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (November)
is soon upon us. If you plan to attend the Woodstock cenotaph, the ceremony
does begin around 10:30 a.m. with many wreaths to be presented.
Private Tyler Todd
Woodstock
has recognized the war years – First World War and Second World War – by naming
streets to honour battles, other moments and locations of wars (Vimy Ridge,
Juno Beach, Dieppe, Operation Jubilee, Ortona, Normandy, Passchendaele, Caen,
Anzio, Dunkirk) and even airplanes (Spitfire, Bristol) and battleships (Alberni,
Halifax).
I
have previously written about the connection of Alberni street to Alberni street
in Woodstock as the Lansdowne Meadows subdivision by the Builders Group (Deroo Brothers
Ventures, Marc Deroo, Oxford Builders, Karl Reyneveld, John Goodman Homes) has
closed in its last gap in the northeast district of the city as immediately to
the east is recreational (Three ball diamonds will open next year along with
children’s splash park and playground) and then commercial / industrial. (See
story link).
With
the Alberni road extension, this specific area was also to include a
cul-de-sac, and that street which will have about 10 homes now has a name
sign on it.
For
Remembrance Day here is my observance to Moro Place.
MORO
RIVER
The
map of Europe has many significant locations as we look back to the Second
World War and one of those strategic dots on the map was Moro River in Italy.
The
Moro River Campaign (The Gully) took place in December of 1943 and included
Canadian forces among the British Eighth Army infantry division. The Allied
forces would also involve troops from New Zealand and India.
The
Moro River, which meanders from mountains down to the Adriatic Sea was a
pivotal locale as an area often defined as Germany’s defensive zone -- Winter
Line -- in Italy during the Second World War.
By
reading accounts (I am not an expert on World War II), the First Canadian
Infantry Division had been assigned as a backup or replacement unit attempting
to move the Allied offence north to Ortona – a very olde city as a port on the
Adriatic.
One
village which saw heavy fighting was Rogatti. On Dec. 5, 1943 the Canadian
companies had gained possession of Rogatti.
San
Leonardo and San Donato would be the next 2 towns the Canadian troops (and
additional Allied forces) would strive to gain.
By
Dec. 28, the Allied forces had established control of Ortona as the German
troops withdrew.
It
is interesting to read about the many battalions and the teamwork required, but
to also quickly note the number of casualties among our national heroes as
these troops were often Ontario-based such as the Seaforth Highlanders, 48th Highlanders, and the Hastings And Prince Edward Regiment.
Operation
Torso was the name of the mission to capture the Moro River and thereby own
control of a pivotal bridge.
The
eventual goal was to reach Rome.
Today,
there is a Canadian cemetery to mark the Moro River battle. This cemetery is in
San Donato in the township of Ortona. One story I found online indicates there
are 1,615 graves there – of which 1,375 have been identified with Canadian
names of soldiers, while another 50 are deemed unidentified. In only the month
of December in 1943 more than 500 Canadian troops were killed as battles progressed
toward Ortona and the pivotal Adriatic Sea. Overall, Veterans Affairs Canada
states about 5,900 Canadians lost their lives in Italy, including battles in
Sicily and mainland Italy.
In
an Atlas of today, the Adriatic Sea has countries such as Croatia, Montenegro,
Bosnia and Slovenia on the west side.
TYLER TODD
If
you read only one link below, discover the Macleans magazine story about the
return of Tyler Todd’s body to Canada.
LINKS:
If you check out a few links, be sure to read the date when each story
was originally published.
Second World War stories pertaining to Italy:
www.oxfordremembers.ca
Private Tyler Todd
http://woundedwarriors.ca/news/wwc-news/article/community-comes-together-in-memory-of-local-soldier/
April of 2015 when Tyler Todd monument is unveiled:
Woodstock students travel to Vimy Ridge in 2016:
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
All blogs on this site are written by:
Mark Schadenberg, Sales
Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist
(SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty
Independently Owned & Operated, Brokerage
(519) 537-1553
No comments:
Post a Comment