Guelph Historical Society hosts exhibition on Canadian wartime history
With history, there is often the risk of seeing it as words on a page and to forget that the people, what they experienced, and that what they felt, were very real.
Leading up to Remembrance Day, the Guelph Historical Society held an event to showcase World War II memorabilia at St. Andrew’s Church on Nov. 1.
Ron Bauman, whose grandfather served in the Canadian Armed Forces, spoke about the items and images on display, providing insight to the narrative they conveyed.
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Bauman’s grandfather was a “D-Day Dodger,” a soldier who fought in Italy for three years. Despite the derogatory nickname, the fighting in Italy was fierce and equally commendable. Bauman has followed his grandfather’s footsteps in a literary sense, exploring the areas where his grandfather served to gain a better understanding of what soldiers went through and picture their experiences. Bauman has spoken personally with many veterans to collect experiences from World War II to the War in Afghanistan.
While many historians focus on the military tactics behind the war, the politics, or reading documents made by these soldiers, Bauman reminded his audience that these are not simply characters in a book. What they did was very real and very gruelling. Despite any analyses on what caused the war or why it happened on a grand scale, at the end of the day, these veterans were, for the most part, simply fighting for the soldier next to them. Bauman recounted numerous stories that have been shared with him, exemplified this camaraderie, by providing an oral history of what these soldiers faced.
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Bauman shared a story of his grandfather’s experiences during the war. Bauman was the first person his grandfather ever told this story to, having kept it to himself for many years. Bauman’s grandfather was a corporal in Italy as well as a sniper. Snipers were often not taken alive by either the Axis or Allies, so capture was never an option. While taking a town occupied by German forces, his grandfather took position in a shell hole near a church to provide overwatch for troops. There he remained when a mortar shell hit the side of the church, bringing a chunk of wall crumbling down onto his position, burying him alive. Bauman’s grandfather shifted about to escape, but ultimately had to wait for Allied forces to rescue him. As night fell, all he could hear were German voices in conversation. Fearing for his life, he remained silent and stayed beneath the rubble deciding to await rescue. This did not happen for two days until Canadian forces took back the town, all the while he had Axis soldiers within a rock’s throw from his position, yet the Allies found him alive and unhurt.
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After Bauman spoke, visitors had the opportunity to look at a display of photos, newspaper clippings, and various memorabilia. Bauman gave a face to the soldiers who fought, he gave them life through stories, and he made them as real to the audience as they always were.