They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.”
– Laurence Binyon, “For the Fallen”

My grandfather, Earl Cross, left his family home in Saskatchewan and joined the First World War as a 23 year-old in 1917. He saw action in Belgium and France, and he kept a diary which is still in our family’s possession, in which he scribbled brief entries whenever he had a free moment.

On Armistice Day, November 11^th, 1918, he penned these simple words: “Cessation of hostilities. Can hardly realize it.” I can imagine how the news must have filtered slowly along the trenches that the war was finally over. No doubt it was met at first with a mixture of disbelief and hope, and then profound relief tinged with sorrow for all those who would never return home to their families. 

Amidst all of the horrors of that long-ago conflict, a flicker of hope could be observed as the troops on both sides marked Christmas Day, 1914. Waving a piece of white fabric at the end of a stick, a few brave soldiers lifted their heads above the trench and, with their arms held high, proceeded cautiously into no man’s land separating the two sets of trenches. Someone found a soccer ball, and in a few minutes the troops had cast aside their rifles and were playing the most unlikely sporting match in history.

At the end of that fleeting truce, the German and British soldiers shook hands, exchanged a few small gifts of chocolate or candy, and returned to their trenches to resume hostilities. Such a moment of camaraderie was never allowed to happen again. However, it ranks as one of the greatest examples of our capacity to turn away from hatred and prejudice and choose the path of human connection. 

In some town squares in Belgium and the Netherlands, the Canadian flag can be seen flying proudly from atop a flagpole, usually with a plaque expressing gratitude to our soldiers for liberating their communities in the world wars. And in the Commonwealth War Graves cemeteries dotted throughout northern Europe, the small white gravestones of hundreds of Canadian aviators, soldiers, sailors and support personnel stretch out in endless rows among those from other Commonwealth nations. To stand amidst these graves, where the only interruption to the silence is the occasional sound of birdsong, is to begin to understand the enormity of war.

Every gravestone is a visual reminder of dreams cut short, hopes denied and lives unfulfilled. But they also send another, more hopeful message: that if we can somehow heed the painful lessons of the past, there is hope for a more peaceful future, however difficult that may seem in these challenging times.

As part of a nation-wide network that shares some bedrock values, Lauremont School will continue to support the cause of peaceful conflict resolution in our own community and beyond our walls.