George Garrett. George Garrett

a moment we would never forget. As I glanced at my fellow Canadian travellers, I noticed many were crying. So was I.

      Our tour members were also deeply touched by what we saw in the small town of Ypres, Belgium. The area in and around Ypres had been the scene of no fewer than five battles during World War I. The Second Battle of Ypres from April 22 to May 15, 1915, marked the first use of poison gas by the Germans. It also marked the first victories for Canada, a former colony, over a European power. There were about 100,000 casualties in that one battle and 400,000 to 800,000 casualties in the nearby Battle of Passchendaele from July to November 1917. Once again poison gas was used. Several Canadian soldiers were gassed and felt the effects for the rest of their lives. It was obvious the people of Belgium had never forgotten the Canadians. Hundreds gathered beneath an arch on the main street of Ypres for a ceremony that involved buglers playing the “Last Post and Reveille” as veterans wearing blue blazers with battle ribbons and military berets solemnly exchanged wreaths honouring those who died so long ago. Canadian flags were everywhere. We were told the ceremony is performed each and every night.

      It is an oddity of history that Newfoundland paid such an awful price in World War I. It was not then part of Canada. It did not join Confederation until 1949. During the Great War, however, generations of Newfoundlanders from dozens of small fishing villages eagerly joined the fray to support Great Britain. On arrival in Britain, the Newfies booed when “O Canada” was played but cheered for “God Save the King” (King George V was then on the throne).

      As we drove through what had been World War I battlefields, our guide pointed out the golden statue of a caribou standing high on a hill. It was a tribute to the Newfoundlanders who had died on the battlefield. People who have visited Newfoundland know that moose abound. However, our guide said Newfies had not chosen a moose as their symbol because the moose is a solitary animal. Caribou are just the opposite—very sociable, just like the people of Newfoundland.

      The Allies, led by the British, planned a major initiative in 1916. Known as the Battle of the Somme, it was supposed to be a major push against the Germans. However, several things went amiss, and the Newfoundland Regiment paid a very heavy price. The regiment sent 707 soldiers into battle; 321 were killed instantly. Hundreds were wounded. The dead included sets of brothers (in one case three brothers), fathers and sons, cousins, nephews and uncles. Nearly all had come from small fishing villages. Many had known each other before going to war. Their sacrifice was one of the heaviest of any regiment in any war. Yet the spirit of the Newfies never dies. One officer said, “We would have kept on fighting, but dead men can’t walk.”

      Newfoundlanders to the core.

      Wartime was a boon to radio. That was how people quickly learned what was going on “over there.” Radio brought the war into people’s homes.

      The Vancouver market was served by stations such as CKWX, originally owned by the United Church, and CJOR, owned by the Chandler family and headed by George Chandler and his brother Art, who was an engineer at the station. There was also CKMO, owned by the Vancouver Daily Province at one point and later by Anna Sprott, who founded the Sprott School of Business, now known as Sprott Shaw College. Just before WWII ended, an enterprising salesman by the name of Bill Rea applied to operate a new radio station in Vancouver. Understandably there was opposition from existing stations. Rea saw an opening. Nearby New Westminster did not have a station to serve the city and its soon-to-grow suburbs like Coquitlam and Surrey. Rea’s application was successful. CKNW first went on the air in 1944.

      Studios were built in the Windsor Hotel on Columbia Street in New Westminster. Owner Bill Rea was one of the announcers as well as host of Ranger’s Cabin, a folksy program featuring what was then called “cowboy music.” It was the forerunner of country and western. He established live-to-air country artists such as Mike, Marc and Jack, the Rhythm Pals. They later moved to rival CKWX and became recording artists with Aragon Records in Vancouver. (All three have passed away.)

      Rea also recognized the importance of local news and local sports. He hired a high school kid named Jim Cox who worked not only as a disc jockey but also did play-by-play of New Westminster Salmonbellies lacrosse games and New Westminster Royals hockey games. The hockey team was strong competition for the old Vancouver Canucks of the Western Hockey League.

      Cox, who worked his shift on CKNW while still going to school, said you never knew what Bill Rea would do next. If he heard something on the air he didn’t like he would sometimes fire the announcer, then hire him back the next day. Cox not only survived those turbulent days, he went on to become an outstanding play-by-play broadcaster, served a stint as news director, and completed his career in radio sales at CKNW and later at a newly formed subsidiary, Western Broadcast Sales. Cox prospered. He and his wife, Louise, and their three children lived in a comfortable home in an upscale area of New Westminster called Massey Heights. One of Jim’s sons became a teacher. Another followed in his father’s footsteps and entered the broadcasting business.