Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 25 continued ... INDIVIDUAL MEMORIALS Each pilgrim was tasked with researching the life of one of Canada’s war dead and presenting their research at the soldier’s grave site. The war dead selected came from each province in Canada. As the NS representative I was assigned to research Roderick Alexander “Rod” MacLennan of Dalem Lake, Cape Breton. I stood at grave 29A19 of the Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery, on the afternoon of 18 July, and spoke to my fellow pilgrims about the young soldier of the 85th Battalion from Cape Breton (see Private Roderick Alexander MacLennan’s biography at the end of this article). The pilgrimage was both emotional and educational. While we did visit many well-known monuments; we also walked the ground and gained a better understanding of the “why” and “how.” Our national anthem was sung freely and proudly, as was the ‘Ode to Newfoundland’. SO WHYA PILGRIMAGE? The RCL Pilgrimages date back to 1936 when 6,200 Great War Veterans, and many family members, travelled to France for the official unveiling and dedication of the Vimy Memorial. In 1987 The RCL sponsored a small group of young Canadians, including teachers, to attend the 50th Anniversary of the unveiling of the Vimy Memorial. The Legion’s Youth Leadership Pilgrimage of Remembrance ran, annually, from 1989 to 1997. Since then the RCL Pilgrimage of Remembrance has been conducted every 2 years. Edmund Blunden, MC, the literary advisor to the Imperial War Graves Commission in 1936, posed the question “why spend money on the dead?... a war cemetery, with all its inscriptions for youths in the main dead ere their prime, is the chief sermon against war…Life is commonly regarded as a marvelous gift – the giving back is the equal marvel, and the war cemeteries are in a sense the poetry of that high action.” By conducting these pilgrimages, The Royal Canadian Legion stays true to its mission statement “to promote Remembrance.” Mirroring Blunden’s sentiments. Applicants for the pilgrimage agree, that if selected, they shall utilize what they learned on the pilgrimage to enhance remembrance in their province. I look forward to doing just that. I would encourage anyone who has a desire to walk the walk of heroes, and learn more about Canadian military history, to seriously consider applying for the next pilgrimage planned for July 2021. "Memoriam eorum retinebimus" continued ... We Will Remember
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