Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 23 continued ... At the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial, just short of the ‘danger tree,’ we took time to sing the “Sweet Forget me Not” – the marching song of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment (R Nfld R). A few days later we walked along a path, through another wheat field, to view the Hawthorne crater that was so significant to the 1916 battle of Beaumont-Hamel. At Monchy-le-Preux, on the edge of yet another wheat field, John traced out the movements, and spoke of the heroic actions, of the soldiers of the R Nfld R who held the line against a vastly superior enemy force on 14 April 1917. A battle that saw the regiment reduced to non-effective strength for the second time during the Great War. We also travelled through more wheat fields to visit the graves of Canadian war dead in the Litchfield Crater and the Courcelette British Cemetery. After visiting the Canadian memorial at Passchendaele, we walked the raised path between a potato field and beet field to reach the 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders) memorial. It was the spot where the highlanders ‘went over the top’ to capture their objective on 28 October 1917. At Canal du Nord we stood on the banks and watched canal boats peacefully glide by. Many military historians consider the attack across the canal, in late-September 1918, as the most significant strategic victory of the Canadian Corps during the Great War. An outstanding feat of secrecy, planning and coordination that relied heavily upon artillery, engineers and infantry. There is nothing along the canal to make note of that victory. When I was a young soldier, I was privileged to meet Pat Brophy; the RCAF rear-gunner Andrew Mynarski, VC, was trying to save as their bomber, Lancaster KB726, was ablaze and going down on the night of 12 June 1944. Mynarski died valiantly trying to save his friend. On our last day John took us to a country crossroads next to a field of curious dairy cattle. It was the site where KB726 crashed through a very large tree before it struck the ground. The site is now marked with a small memorial to Pilot Officer (Air Gunner) Mynarski, VC. That damaged tree is still standing today – a stark reminder of the plight bomber crews who perished during WW II. Singing at the Danger Tree Canal du Nord continued ... Remains of tree damaged by Mynarski’s Lancaster KB726
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