The Bruce Remembers Gallery, highlighting the First World War, was truly a special project for me. Canada in the Great War is an area I have had significant interest in and have studied at length. This is because of my family connection to the conflict having three great-grandfathers in uniform. My great-grandpa Johnson fought with the Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry from early 1915 at Frezenberg until being wounded at the Somme in 1916. Upon returning from hospital in England in 1917 he worked recruiting Americans throughout New England for the Canadian Army. I have a framed tunic of his hanging in my living room as a lasting tribute to him, and all of the brave Canadians who fought for King and Country.
The exhibit itself was a five diorama series. As you enter the gallery the first diorama catches your eye as it is a striking scene of over 600 marching soldiers. It is a representation of a parade march the 160th Bruce Battalion made between Walkerton and Chesley on June 4th, 1916. Further into the gallery is a three diorama set, showing the progression of the fighting style seen in the First World War. It begins with a scene showing untouched, late summer French countryside, highlighted is the uniforms and tactics which are reminiscent of a bygone era. The next scene depicts a typical German front line ‘defence in depth’ layout. This diorama makes the viewer aware as to the difficulty of breaking through the line of trenches as well as the shattered countryside. The third diorama is a Passchendaele-like scene showing a hellish quagmire of mud, shell holes, corpses and interconnected defensive positions. In addition to the landscape this scene also shows the changing infantry tactics as the infantry have much more firepower at their disposal through grenade throwers, and particularly, Lewis guns.
Soldiers of the 160th Bruce Battalion march on a hot summer day.
Shattered buildings form part of this German defensive position.
Shellfire explodes near a destroyed church somewhere in France.
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