World War I facts... excerpt from War Horse Theatre programme

From Dave Robinson:

“Having seen the play War Horse last November in England and the Stephen Spielberg movie over the Christmas holidays, one cannot but to be deeply moved the by the horrors of World War I as seen through the eyes of a complete innocent, in this case a horse. It made me want to look closer to the true cost of war, a war that in reality in its simplest form had as its root cause a ‘family feud’ between the royal families of Europe. A fight over nationalistic ‘bragging rights’ that cost nearly ten million lives.

The Western front stretched 440 miles, from the Swiss border to the North Sea, as a line of trenches, dug-outs and barbed wire fences, with an area known as No man's land between them. And the line moved very little between 1914-18.

On the Eastern Front, the vast eastern plains and limited rail network prevented a trench warfare stalemate, though the scale was just as large. The middle eastern and Italian fronts also saw fighting, while there were also battles at sea, and for the first time, in the air.

WWI caused the collapse of four empires: the Austro-Hungarian; German; Ottoman and Russian. Germany lost its colonial empire and states such as Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Yugoslavia gained independence. The immense cost of the war also set the stage for the break-up of the British Empire and left France mired in debt for 25 years.”

Quick Facts:

Area of France invaded and devastated        10%

Livestock Numbers in That Area               Pre-War                 1918

Cattle & draft Oxen                                   892,000            58,000

Horses & Mules                                         407,000            32,000

Sheep & Goats                                         949,000             25,000

Pigs                                                        356,000            25,000

Agricultural Production Lost to Area

Wheat                          50%                            Oats                30%

Sugar Beet                   60%                            Potatoes          18%

Damage In That Area

Houses destroyed                                         293,000

Houses seriously damaged                             435,961

Trenches & Shell Holes to be filled             436 million cubic yards

Barbed wire to be removed                      448 million yards

Munitions to be destroyed                         21 million tons

Wells to be restored                                     12,118

Railway track destroyed                              1,500 miles

Roads to be remade                                  33,000 miles   

(Note: One million horses were taken to France from Britain, 62,000 were returned)

Content of this General Overview is cited from: “War Horse”, New London Theatre Programme

Veteran James Ambrose Cairns

James Ambrose Cairns was born on March 16^th, 1895, and grew up in Emerald, Prince Edward Island.  When he was 17 he began working at the Royal Bank on October 14^th, 1912 as a clerk.  At the age of 21, he enlisted from Liverpool, Nova Scotia into the war on June 17^th, 1916.  He was deployed to Aldershot, United Kingdom in the 25^th battalion.  On June 13^th, 1918 at age 23, while serving on the Arras front James was killed in action.  He is buried in the Bac-Du-Sad British Cemetery, France. 

            After his death, the Royal Bank honored a plaque of appreciation in memory of him.  It hung in the Royal bank for several years and then was passed down to his nephew (my grandfather).

Mallory Read

Veteran Clyde George Redden

Clyde George Redden was born on November 7^th, 1922, in New Ross, Nova Scotia. He grew up in Black Point with five other brothers and sisters. He was the eldest child of George Alexander and Annie Theresa Redden.

In his day and age, obtaining a grade twelve education was not a necessity—you worked as soon as you could, especially on the coasts of Nova Scotia. But a certain skill set was required in the Royal Canadian Air Force, so he went to the College Sainte-Anne of Church Point, Nova Scotia, through the years 1936 to 1939. Bomb aimers required a deeper education, especially in math, as they dealt with angles and physics.

He initiated his air training in 1942 and enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force in October of the same year. He was ranked Flying Officer Bomb Aimer on August 6^th, 1943.

He was part of the #155 Squadron RAF, Despite the Elements, and he flew in     the Lancaster aircraft with five other crewmembers: Flying Officer D.M. Price; Flying Officer J.D. Johnston; Pilot Officer D.S. Haggis; Pilot Officer D.M. Hamilton; and Pilot Officer J.C. Brunning. In the early training sessions and missions, various pilots flew the Lancaster with him. But later, when Clyde was more experienced in his practice, F/O Price tended to be pilot. F/O Price was the pilot for practically every mission, up until the end of their service with the Royal Canadian Air Force, according to Clyde’s logbook. These six men, as was any other crew in the Air Force, were best friends. Once they were assigned as a team, they were together to the end.

They flew out of Witchford, England in Lancaster aircraft #ND805 for the last time, October 14^th, 1944. They failed to return from daylight operations at Duisburg, Germany.

F/O. D.M. Price	Missing In Action
F/O. C.G. Redden	Missing In Action
P/O. D.S. Haggis	Missing In Action
P/O. D.M. Hamilton	Missing In Action
P/O. J.C. Brunning	Missing In Action
F/O. J.D. Johnston	Prisoner Of War

Clyde George Redden, 21 years old, and four of his five crewmates were considered “Missing In Action” on October 14^th, 1944. They were never found, and have no known graves. Their names are inscribed on the Runnymede War Memorial in Englefield Green, Egham, Surrey, England. They are amid the names of 20,450 men and women of the Air Forces of the British Commonwealth. 3,050 among them are Canadian airmen.

“Per ardua ad astra”

Through adversity to the stars

This is the RCAF’s motto; it could also be translated to “Through struggle to the stars”.

This is a Lancaster aircraft, identical to what Clyde and his crewmates flew in. Clyde would be located in the bottom near the front of the plane, where he would aim and drop bombs.

These six men lived together, flew day and night together, and completed their honorable service together. They were together to the end, and through adversity and struggle, made their own way to the stars. Clyde is in the bottom right corner of the photograph

Clyde is my mother’s, mother’s brother. Each generation until myself grew up in tiny fishing villages/communities. I was born into one and later moved to PEI, but my roots are still there, along with his and the Redden family’s. I did not get to meet much of his generation. My uncle Ted, with the help of his daughter, dug up most of this information on Clyde, a relative I’d barely known until now. Despite his age, he hasn’t changed his looks—the Redden boys look a lot alike, and so I got a taste of what my uncle might have been, had he survived the war. It was surprisingly emotional, seeing pictures of my uncle Clyde and meeting uncle Ted, who thought he was eighteen years old and my great-uncle at the same time. This trip will start to connect the dots between that generation of relatives.

-Michaella Donovan