War Graves And Little Lambs

Today I conclude this look at Woodlawn Cemetery in Guelph.

There are tombstones done in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission style, most of them gathered together in a single area. Some of these are veterans, while others are people who died in action more recently and were returned home.

Quite often in older cemeteries like this, a child angel or a lamb on a tombstone will designate the grave of a child. Such is the case with these.

One wider view from here.

A couple of days later we'd had snow. I was passing by the cemetery and took this shot. Tomorrow I'll take you elsewhere in Guelph.

A Walk Among The Tombstones

Carrying on with this walk through Woodlawn Cemetery, I kept taking pictures.

I'm not certain as to if this is a tombstone. If it is, the inscription is well worn away.

This tombstone has always caught my eye during visits.

Serenity In A Place Of Eternal Rest

I'm carrying on today with this look at Woodlawn Cemetery in Guelph.

This one, with a cat and dog inscribed on the stone, caught my eye.

Winter Wandering Through The Cemetery

I went down to southern Ontario for a few days in early January; the next few posts will reflect that. I paid a visit to Woodlawn Cemetery on one of those days. This is found in the city of Guelph, at the heart of Wellington County. When I took these shots, there wasn't much snow on the ground. It being shortly after Christmas, here and there I noticed Christmas wreaths at some of the tombstones.

The building here is near the entrance, housing the offices for the cemetery.

I carried on with my walk.

A memorial stone here includes a Union Jack beside it; the names of six soldiers who died overseas during World War One are inscribed on it.

The wreath we see here is here for a specific reason. The McCrae family plot is here, with the name on several stones. Inscribed on the flat stone we see here is the name of their most famous son, John McCrae, whose burial place is in Europe. McCrae served in World War One and wrote the poem in Flanders Fields.

Remembrance Day

"They went with songs to the battle, they were young

Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,

They fell with their faces to the foe.

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

Today is Remembrance Day in Canada. November 11th, 1918 marked the end of the First World War in Europe, and the date remains a day of commemoration here and in other parts of the world, even with other names, for the fallen of war. These shots are from Guelph, taken in July at Woodlawn Cemetery. A section of the cemetery is designated a military cemetery, with the stones in the traditional Commonwealth War Graves style that dates back to the Great War.

Guelph is where my father lives, and when I visited this summer I took photographs that I decided I'd hold onto for this date. This is the main war memorial in the city's core.

During my time there, I paid a visit to the Guelph Civic Museum, where among the items of local history was this hockey jersey for the Guelph Storm. On it is inscribed the poem In Flanders Fields. The author, John McCrae, was born in Guelph and grew up here. As a doctor, officer, and soldier, he went to the battlegrounds of Europe when the Great War broke out. He never came home, dying of pneumonia in France, where he is buried.

McCrae House is where he was born. The house has been turned into a museum in its own right, and it seems this is a place of pilgrimage for locals on November 11th. Here we have a view of the outside gardens with a memorial.

The interior features displays, artifacts, and panels on McCrae, his life, and times.

Back outside, here are two more views.

For my last shot today, a more recent shot of the War Memorial here in Ottawa, in silhouette. I will be down here today for the national services, and planning on visiting the War Museum afterwards.