Spy on the wall - Images

Our April-May issue, which will soon be on its way to subscribers' mailboxes, includes the following letter from Thomas Ritchie of Ottawa, Ontario. Following the letter here are the photos he sent us of the sculptures on Parliament Building.

"The cartoon in Charles Hou’s article “Lampooning Laurier” (Laugh lines December 2010–January 2011) exemplifies the anti-German and anti-Kaiser sentiment prevalent in Canada during the First World War, sentiment that led to a new name for at least one community (Berlin became Kitchener). Another example — a wall carving on Canada’s Parliament Building in Ottawa — depicts Kaiser Wilhelm II and a German spy.

The original Parliament Building was destroyed by fire in 1916. The design of its replacement, like that of the original, is in the Gothic style of architecture. The Ottawa Citizen’s February 17, 1919, issue referred to the Vimy Ridge memorial on the building’s west wall. R.F. Fleming wrote that it portrayed “the faces of the masked German spy and the ex-Kaiser, indicative of the iniquity of the Hun and his secret hand, which Vimy Ridge heroes helped to overthrow.”

Like the cartoon with Charles Hou’s article, a part of the sculptural decoration of Canada’s Parliament Building illustrates the strong anti-German sentiment that developed in Canada in WWI."

Top: West wall Vimy memorial on the Parliament Building. Middle: Masked German spy. Bottom: The Kaiser.

Posted: 11/03/2011 12:51:19 PM by Mark Reid | with 4 comments
Filed under: CharlesHou, gargoyles, Germanspies, Gothicarchitecture, KaiserWilhelmII, OttawaOntario, ParliamentBuilding

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	It’s not always about the chassis. There’s a lot of little things that can make the difference between ‘seen her before’ and ‘never gonna forget her’. The way she moves, the way she uses her eyes or voice, her mental attitude… sometimes it’s a lot of little things that don’t photograph well. Some women have “IT” and- no mattter how much money gets spent on vanity surgery or makeovers- some women never will.
	14/05/2012 8:44:12 PM

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	Did anyone else watch the local news when the reporter asked people about Vimy Ridge? “Huh”? “What?” It was a disgrace to see that virutally no one knew anything about it. Trust me, it is not because of our education system. Vimy Ridge is an important part of the Grade 10 study of Canadian sovereignty. Though is it really surprising in today’s world that people know so little about things that happen outside their “bubble”? If you read the book ‘Generation Me’, you will know what I mean. The attitude that “if it does not directly affect me, its not a big deal” is in my opinion, one of society’s biggest problems.
	13/05/2012 9:34:09 PM

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	a word about the war even after service in the home army during the Second War. He started to talk once I came around after joining Army Cadets (he died just before I joined the reserve army) but never about the first war, just the second.Years ago I became interested in military history and found a link to my present Regiment and the Battalion he was in in the 1914-1919.Both of our Regiments were part of the same Brigade/Division as my Regiments predecessors were the 31st Infantry Battalion CEF.During the battle of Vimy my regiment crossed no mans land to their first objective and once there dug in while the 27th Battalion passes by and took the lead to their objective to our front.While visiting Vimy I was able to locate where our two battalions ( as part of 2nd Div)) were positioned and walked the ground my Grandfather fought to his objective (the town of Thelus) The distance was about a mile but in 1917 it took 4 days and hundreds of lives.There is a small cemetery, small by WWI standards, that is one of the least visited, because it is off the beaten path {at Google Earth 50 (degrees) 21â 4.42â N, and 24 (degrees) 47â 17.28â E} that contains the remains of 31st and 27th Battalion soldiers, named and unknown, that is in eye view of Thelus.The monument is at 50(Deg)22â 46.95âN and 2(Deg)46â 23.17âIf any get there look it up.The monument was in very rough shape and many of the names ( of those with no known grave) engraved had been weathered off. The restoration was greatly needed for sure.Glad they did.Promptly at 5:30 a.m. on a wet Easter Monday 90 years ago, 27,000 Canadian soldiers in four divisions climbed out of their trenches on a low but long ridge that would become synonymous with Canadian history and military pride. Vimy Ridge would become the first significant military reversal of the war and the beginning of the end for the German forces in France.At 9:10 a.m. as part of the 6th Brigade (the Iron Sixth), Canadian Second Division, more than 1,000 soldiers from the 31st Infantry Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, (predecessors to the South Alberta Light Horse) crossedno manâs land into a hail of German bullets. Often leaning forward, as if walking against a fierce blowing snow storm, (many waiting for that bullet with their name on it), these brave men took the ridge that French and British troops had failed to take earlier in the war at a cost of more than 100,000 French lives.Some 3,598 Canadians over the next four days (April 9 to 12) would never see home again, and another 7,104 would be wounded including a large number of 31st Battalion soldiers, some from Medicine Hat. By the warâs end in 1918, two Teel boys from Medicine Hat, both of whom served with the 31st Battalion, would have their names engraved on the Riverside Veterans Memorial Park monument along with several others from that war.King Edward VIII unveiled the magnificent Vimy monument erected on the highest feature of the ridge on land granted to Canada on July 26, 1936. Engraved on the monument are the names of 16,000 Canadians killed inthe First World War that have no known graves. Amongst them is the name of the Unknown Soldier now resting in the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa.After 70 years of neglect and degradation by the elements of time and weather, the Canadian government undertook a restoration program ending with the rededication of this huge memorial Monday to mark the 90th year of the battle. In attendance on Monday were members of the South Alberta Light Horse, a regiment that proudly bears the Battle Honour âVimy, 1917â along with 22 other first war battle honours from its total historic register of 39.The regiment, having served this country and city as âCitizen Soldiersâ from 1885, First World War, Second World War, and Afghanistan in 2006 is proud to be part of this 90th anniversary that established Canada as a country on the world stage. The sacrifice they made in that battle, made us what we are today. Jim Ogston, Master Warrant OfficerSouth Alberta Light HorseMuseum curator, Medicine Hat
	12/05/2012 8:18:16 PM

	Elif
	Did anyone else watch the local news when the retpeorr asked people about Vimy Ridge? Huh ? What? It was a disgrace to see that virutally no one knew anything about it. Trust me, it is not because of our education system. Vimy Ridge is an important part of the Grade 10 study of Canadian sovereignty. Though is it really surprising in today's world that people know so little about things that happen outside their bubble ? If you read the book Generation Me', you will know what I mean. The attitude that if it does not directly affect me, its not a big deal is in my opinion, one of society's biggest problems.
	05/05/2012 11:06:10 PM

	TJ
	After these images were posted we received another letter from Mr. Ritchie. He says: Since writing to you recently about carvings of Germany's Kaiser and a spy, I found in my files a photo, undated and bearing no photographer's name or other identification. It shows very clearly the sculptured heads which in my photo are coated with grime. The date stone shown in my photo differs from that in the earlier ("1917-04-09" instead of "April 9th 1917"). In my photo the upper part of the stonework appears to have been cleaned, if not replaced.
	21/04/2011 1:34:20 PM