Lost for a century amid the muddy fields of France, a P.E.I. chaplain made sure four Canadian soldiers got a proper burial earlier this year.
As Remembrance Day descends again, Rev. Major Tom Hamilton finds himself thinking back to late August when he was officiated at the funerals of the soldiers who were killed during the First World War.
All four Canadian soldiers died in battles that took place around Vimy Ridge. Three of the four soldiers’ remains were identified. Tests could not confirm the identity of the fourth soldier.
Nearly two years ago excavation was taking place in the area for development of new properties when the remains of the soldiers were found.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission and Department of Veterans Affairs went to work with history and heritage specialists as well as forensic experts to identify the soldiers.
And, because the soldiers were military, the Royal Canadian Chaplain Service got involved because it handles funerals for military members.
Of the four soldiers, three were reservists and two were Presbyterian.
So, the chaplain service sought out a reservist, Presbyterian chaplain who carried a senior rank.
Hamilton was recently promoted to major with the P.E.I. Regiment where he serves as the regimental padre.
The deputy command army chaplain in Canada contacted Hamilton and asked him to officiate in the burial ceremony for the four fallen heroes.
“Of course, I was absolutely overjoyed that he would ask me in the first place,’’ Hamilton said. “I just considered it such a huge honour.’’
At his own expense, Hamilton took his wife, Paula (chaplain for the Charlottetown Fire Department), and daughter, Susie, with him.
“It was definitely overwhelming. To be able to conduct the first funeral at Vimy in 70 years, that kind of thing will stay with me for the rest of my life, being able to give dignity to a soldier in that way . . . I will probably never have the same experience ever again for the rest of my life.’’
Hamilton said he was overcome with a sense of loss and sacrifice as he visited cemetery after cemetery in France, reading the epitaphs families had inscribed on the gravestones such as: “God remembers when the world forgets’’.
“For me as a Christian, as a minister, something I didn’t expect was my faith to be deepened.’’
Hamilton had been to Vimy before but this was the first time his wife and one of his daughters accompanied him. He said it made this trip all the more unique.
And, being a historian and have a PhD in history allowed Hamilton to provide special context of the battles the men died in.
He also did a historical address and prayer at the dedication of the Hill 70 Memorial while they were in France.
