Making History Personal

In 2012, Canada’s History Society invited families across Canada to share their personal accounts and photographs from the First World War. The response was overwhelming; and the result is Canada’s Great War Album.

Since its publication in late 2014, Canada’s Great War Album has found a place in homes and classrooms across Canada. For Mitch Bubulj, a history teacher at Silverthorn Collegiate Institute in Etobicoke, Ontario, the book can be found in his home, classroom, and school library.

“This collection of stories is so important to have in the classroom because it allows students to connect with the personal side of Canada’s history.”

As time continues to pass we are losing more and more untold stories about the Great War. Bubulj remembered the stories his grandfather, John Harding, told him as a child and upon seeing Canada’s History’s call for submissions decided it was time to share those stories and memories with other Canadians.

His grandfather, John “Jack” Harding joined the British navy when he was only sixteen-years-old in 1914. After witnessing the aftermath of the German torpedoing of the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania, and having enough of life on board ship, Harding prepared to make a move off the convoy ship. In 1916, Harding stepped off the HMS Suffolk in Halifax while the vessel was in dry dock receiving repairs.

Harding may have jumped ship, but he had no intention of abandoning the war. Hiding his naval uniform under a rock in the harbour, Harding travelled up the coast of Nova Scotia and enlisted in the Canadian army on September 20, 1916 under his mother’s maiden name. He received a full pardon from the British Admiralty in 1919 seeing how he saw active duty at such battles as Vimy and Passchendaele. See the story in print on page 65 or on Canada’s Great War Album website.

With a distance of one hundred years, the experiences of the Great War do not translate easily into a high school classroom. Without the connections of great grandfathers, uncles and aunts, students have even less of a reason to remember. But there are ways to reinvigorate this remembrance and many teachers are making headway.

“I took my students to the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and many tours since because it is at this great distance that they truly recognize the significance of the Canadian contribution in the Great War and they discover what it means to be a Canadian today.”

“I fully intend on taking students to the 100th anniversary of Vimy Ridge too. The plans have been set in motion with EF Educational Tours and with the students.”

Similar to visiting the battlefields and memorials in Europe, Canada’s Great War Album provides Canadians the opportunity to come face-to-face with primary sources.