11th August 2008 Erin Doyle Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

[tobyma123]

In memory of Master Corporal Erin Doyle  3rd battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian light infantry
based in Edmonton Alberta Canada.
KIA in the Panjwayi district of Afghanistan.
Erin was my cousin.
tobyma123.

[philipsearching]

I (and others) concentrate on the two World Wars and sometimes overlook those who fell in other conflicts.

Thank you for reminding me.

ERIN DOYLE - your service and sacrifice are not forgotten.

Philip

[Viktoria]

I can remember lads who were at school with my future brother in law.
Straight out of the sixth form and into the army to do their National Service.
He was sent to Korea.Many of his comrades did not come back.
He did but was changed forever by what he experienced.
Malaya, Cypress, Kenya.National service men fought there too.
Young people seemed younger then yet they acted very responsibly.
Lads who still went to Sunday  school at age 18 ,were a few months later
in the Army and were sent to fight.
My b in law also went to Japan after Hiroshima and Nagasaki,this would be  between 1952 and 1954.

National service interrupted the studies and apprenticeships of those boys,
but that would be the same for the lads of both world wars too.
Old folk often say the youth of today would benefit from having to do National service,I don’t think it necessarily would,I can’t see some of them taking orders,and do you know, that might not have been a bad thing over 100 years ago.
Viktoria.

[tobyma123]

Hello phillipsearching  yes people tend to forget about Korea Aden Falklands Iraq (my son served also
in Afghanistan.
Erin was a lovely boy much loved on his 3rd tour (3 tours not on is it).
I hope people will remember these other wars as we remember those from WW1 on sunday.
regards tobyma123.

[tobyma123]

Hello VicKtoria  what a sad story for your relative, as i have just posted people do tend to forget
that there were smaller wars than WW1 and 2.
I have another cousin that i will be posting shortly KIA Vietnam i don't forget any one when you see
their photo as well it really brings it home.
Thank goodness we did not go there.
I don't think some of the young people even know about them.
Regards tobyma123.

[Viktoria]

There is a lovely memorial to Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry near Ypres, actually a little further along the road to Frezenbergh.
There is a Princess Patricia Street(in Flemish (Straat).Also Maple Avenue near hill 60 and 62.
It is circular,a stone seat and in the hollow centre a Maple tree.
A good marker on old maps is Polygon Wood.
There are other Canadian memorials to Canadian soldiers as they were very
much  in evidence throughout some of the worst fighting along the front.
At St Julien, now called Vancouver corner which marks the place where
18,000Canadians withstood the first German gas attacks ,April 1915.
The tall pillar is topped by a soldier ,with bowed head and holding his rifle
in front of him.It is in high relief but melts gradually to low relief until the human figure is one with the stone.
The Canadians and Australian troops were absolutely essential in destroying the Hindenburg line.
They seem to have had Leaders with more imagination than many British ones did, the Canadian who helped plan the attack on The Hindenburg line said if anything was to be lost it would be armaments and not lives.
There was a very informative programme on T. V  this week.
Newfoundland has many distinctive memorials,for such a small province their losses were catastrophic.
The memorials are magnificent,huge bronze Caribous atop a stone ,craggy outcrop.

The Vimy Ridge Canadian one is really impressive,two stone pillars which can be seen for miles and
miles,and a statue of a weeping woman which overlooks the ground where so many Canadians   
were killed.
If you haven’t looked online ,do look ,the memorials are truly beautiful.
Kind regards.
Viktoria.m

[tobyma123]

Hello ViKtoria thank you that is worth a look to be sure.
I have now posted a memory for my cousin KIA Vietnam on the US page.
Major A R Toal  you might want to look? another far too young.
Kind regards tobyma123.