Wait for Me, Daddy!

"From what I understood from the photographer, he was trying to get a picture of how many soldiers there were, but then this kid made the getaway." (Jack Bernard)

It's the most famous photo ever to be taken in Canada during World War II.  It appeared in Life, Time and Newsweek.  It hung in every school in British Columbia during the war.  And it was used to sell Canadian war bonds.  It's called "Wait for Me, Daddy!".

On October 1, 1940, a column of Canadian soldiers marched down Vancouver's Columbia Ave. to the train station.  Their uniforms freshly pressed, their hats tilted on their head at just the right angle, their boots freshly shined, the new recruits were ready for battle.  But one little boy wasn't ready for them to leave.  The white-blond haired boy broke away from his mother's grasp and ran after his father who was part of the column, reaching out his little hand as if to say "Wait for me, Daddy!".  His father responded by reaching out his own hand. His elegantly dressed mother reached out for her son's hand, trying to keep up.  

All the while, photographer Claude Dettloff was snapping photographs of the column of soldiers on Columbia Ave.  Unprepared for the scene to follow, he captured a once in a lifetime moment on film.  His photograph would be published in The Province newspaper,  later to be picked up by several magazines including Reader's Digest.  Dettloff would become famous over the heart-grabbing image of the white-blond haired boy chasing his war-bound father down the street.

                                        

nationalpost.com

The little boy, Warren Bernard, returned to his Vancouver home that autumn day with his mother, Bernice.  His father, Jack, along with the rest of the British Columbia Regiment, boarded a train for Nanaimo where he underwent military training.

Later Jack fought on the battlefields of France and Belgium.  On the home front, Bernice and Warren lived out the war on a modest income in a rented apartment.  Since money was scarce, Bernice agreed to let Warren participate in a war bonds tour in 1943.  Dressed in a smart blue blazer and short grey pants, Warren toured the province with war bonds that featured the famous Dettloff photo.  The young boy, who had to take time off from his schooling at General Wolfe Elementary, delivered the same speech every time, ending with the line:  "Help bring my Daddy home!"  The teary-eyed audience usually responded generously to his plea.  When Jack Bernard returned home in October of 1945, Bernice and Warren were there to meet him, as was Claude Dettloff, ready to photograph the happy reunion.  

The white-haired boy grew up, married in 1964 and in the 1980's, became mayor of Tofino, British Columbia.  A sculpture honouring the moment the Bernard family said goodbye, was recently erected at the corner of 8th Street and Columbia Avenue, the spot where the original photo was taken.  Canada Post has issued a two dollar coin with the famous image.

The reunion between father and son courtesy blogspot.com.

A Bear in War

Although most Canadian children cannot relate to war, they can relate to a Teddy bear.  That is why the World War I based picture book A Bear in War is told from the point of view of a stuffed animal.  Teddy belongs to a 10 year old girl named Aileen who lives on a farm in East Farnham Quebec with her 7-year-old brother Howard.  Teddy relates the everyday life of the siblings:  feeding the chickens and collecting their eggs; a trip into town where they see soldier recruitment posters; a snowball fight that turns into a pretend war battle.

Then Teddy describes the night that Aileen's Daddy came to her bedroom and broke the news that he would be leaving to train as a soldier.  The stuffed animal enjoys its first train ride as Aileen, Howard and their mother travel to Valcartier to visit their daddy.  Once the new soldier is shipped overseas to France to fight, his children keep in contact with him by writing letters.  Later Daddy ends up fighting in the trenches in Belgium.  Teddy is sent to Belgium in a care package to raise Daddy's spirits; it is there that he gets to "watch the war from Daddy's front pocket".  That is where he died in the Fall of 1917 with Teddy in his pocket.  Found by another Canadian soldier, Teddy was shipped home to Canada to his rightful owner.

After Aileen passed away, she left Teddy and some letters in a briefcase for her children.  Mr. Rogers' granddaughter, Roberta, found the briefcase and had Teddy placed in the Canadian War Musuem in Ottawa.  Mr. Rogers' great-granddaughter, Stephanie Innes co-wrote A Bear in War with Harry Endrulat.

The latter author spoke at the Paris Library as part of Family Literacy Day today.  After giving an informative lesson on how to write a children's picture book, Mr. Endrulat handed out autographed copies of his book.  A Bear in War is laid out in scrapbook style with authentic photographs from the Rogers family.  What a great way to bring Canadian history to life for our children!



 Photo courtesy http://store02.prostores.com.

Canada's Most Famous War Photo Graces Stamp

It's the most famous and most recognized photo ever to be taken in Canada during World War II.  It appeared in Life, Time and Newsweek.  It hung in every school in British Columbia during the war.  And it was used to sell Canadian war bonds.  It is called "Wait for Me, Daddy!".

On October 1, 1940, a column of Canadian soldiers walked down Vancouver's Columbia Ave. to the train station.  Their uniforms freshly pressed, their hats tilted on their head at just the right angle, their boots freshly shined, their bodies trained for battle.  But one little boy wasn't ready for them to leave.  The white-blond haired boy broke away from his mother's grasp and ran after his father who was part of the column, reaching out his little hand as if to say "Wait for me, Daddy!".  His father responded by reaching out his own hand. His elegantly dressed mother reached out for her son's hand, trying to keep up.  

All the while, photographer Claude Dettloff was snapping photographs of the column of soldiers on Columbia Ave.  Unprepared for the scene to follow, he captured a once in a lifetime moment on film. His photograph would be published in The Province newspaper,  later to be picked up by several magazines including Reader's Digest.  Dettloff would become famous over the heart-grabbing image of the white-haired boy chasing his war-bound father down the street.

The little boy, Warren "Whitey" Bernard, later sold war bonds for his country, holding up the famous photo and pleading with his audience to help "bring his Daddy home".  Warren's Daddy was one of the lucky ones who returned five years later, in October 1945, for a happy reunion with his son.

"Wait for Me, Daddy!" stamp issued by Canada Post in 2014 courtesy https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/blogs/collecting/details.page?article=2014/10/04/wait_for_me_daddy&cattype=collecting&cat=stamps.

In Flanders Fields

"In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row

That mark our place, and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard among the guns below."

(In Flanders Fields, John McCrae)

The image features a brilliant red poppy, the flower we wear to remember the fallen.  In the centre is the silhouette of a soldier.  At the bottom sit the crosses, row on row.  And at the top, under a grey sky, fly the larks, still bravely singing.  

It is Canada Post's tribute to the poem In Flanders Fields, written by Dr. John McCrae from Guelph, Ontario, right after his friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, succumbed to a hit by an 8 inch German shell.  The poem served as a tribute to all of the Canadians who lost their lives at the World War I battle at Ypres Salient. In Flanders Fields has been recited, memorized, and memorialized by millions of Canadians.  The Canadian stamp was issued in May of 2015 to mark the centennial of the famous poem.  "One hundred years later, the power of its verses to evoke the horror of war remains as strong as the day they were written." (https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/blogs/collecting/details.page?article=2015/05/03/in_flanders_fields&cattype=collecting&cat=stamps)

https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/blogs/announcements/details.page?article=2015/04/30/enduring_elegy_by_co&cattype=announcements&cat=newsreleases

Wait for Me, Daddy!

"From what I understood from the photographer, he was trying to get a picture of how many soldiers there were, but then this kid made the getaway." (Jack Bernard)

It's the most famous photo ever to be taken in Canada during World War II.  It appeared in Life, Time and Newsweek.  It hung in every school in British Columbia during the war.  And it was used to sell Canadian war bonds.  It's called "Wait for Me, Daddy!".

On October 1, 1940, a column of Canadian soldiers marched down Vancouver's Columbia Ave. to the train station.  Their uniforms freshly pressed, their hats tilted on their head at just the right angle, their boots freshly shined, the new recruits were ready for battle.  But one little boy wasn't ready for them to leave.  The white-blond haired boy broke away from his mother's grasp and ran after his father who was part of the column, reaching out his little hand as if to say "Wait for me, Daddy!".  His father responded by reaching out his own hand. His elegantly dressed mother reached out for her son's hand, trying to keep up.  

All the while, photographer Claude Dettloff was snapping photographs of the column of soldiers on Columbia Ave.  Unprepared for the scene to follow, he captured a once in a lifetime moment on film.  His photograph would be published in The Province newspaper,  later to be picked up by several magazines including Reader's Digest.  Dettloff would become famous over the heart-grabbing image of the white-blond haired boy chasing his war-bound father down the street.

                                        

nationalpost.com

The little boy, Warren Bernard, returned to his Vancouver home that autumn day with his mother, Bernice.  His father, Jack, along with the rest of the British Columbia Regiment, boarded a train for Nanaimo where he underwent military training.

Later Jack fought on the battlefields of France and Belgium.  On the home front, Bernice and Warren lived out the war on a modest income in a rented apartment.  Since money was scarce, Bernice agreed to let Warren participate in a war bonds tour in 1943.  Dressed in a smart blue blazer and short grey pants, Warren toured the province with war bonds that featured the famous Dettloff photo.  The young boy, who had to take time off from his schooling at General Wolfe Elementary, delivered the same speech every time, ending with the line:  "Help bring my Daddy home!"  The teary-eyed audience usually responded generously to his plea.  When Jack Bernard returned home in October of 1945, Bernice and Warren were there to meet him, as was Claude Dettloff, ready to photograph the happy reunion.  

The white-haired boy grew up, married in 1964 and in the 1980's, became mayor of Tofino, British Columbia.  A sculpture honouring the moment the Bernard family said goodbye, was recently erected at the corner of 8th Street and Columbia Avenue, the spot where the original photo was taken.  Canada Post has issued a two dollar coin with the famous image.

The reunion between father and son courtesy blogspot.com.