First World War hero's legacy survives with great-grandkids
For most, Canada Day is a sea of red, white and fireworks. But this year, two siblings serving their country will spend the holiday honouring their great-grandfather's legacy.
Const. Joanna Wright of Toronto police and her brother, Major David Wright, who is a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, will remember their great-grandfather, David Anderson, a decorated hero from the First World War who survived getting shot by the Germans.
Friday marks the 100-year anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, the largest and bloodiest battle on the western front of the Great War.
At the time, Anderson was a 26-year-old pipe major with the Royal Scots — a storied British infantry regiment. He led the Royal Scots 15th Battalion over the top of a bank on the Somme River into a hail of German bullets, unarmed and playing the regimental tune Dunbarton's Drums.
"He was shot immediately," said Joanna, who has been researching her family's history after becoming a police officer like her great-grandfather. Anderson served with the Edinburgh City Police before and after the war.
"We're honouring the legacy of one member of my family who represented a whole generation of men who had the courage, the commitment and the conviction to answer the call of king and country and enlist in the military in a time when they were needed," David Wright said.
A century later, the Wright siblings follow in his footsteps. It's their responsibility, they say, to carry on the family's tradition of service.
"He's a tough act to follow," says Joanna, who's been a member of the Toronto Police Service for 28 years. "I think about the courage that he demonstrated and showed, and the value system that he obviously lived by, and I hope that I can somehow measure up to that."
Her younger brother shares this sense of duty. But for him this connection is more personal. He is Anderson's namesake.
"It really reminds you of the whole fact that had he not survived that day, our family tree would've ended at that branch," he says.
Although it doesn't keep time well anymore, Wright keeps his great-grandfather's rose gold pocket watch tucked into the folds of his waistcoat while on active-duty with the Canadian Forces.
"It means an awful lot to me and it's something I will always cherish," he says.
This family heirloom was awarded to Anderson for his service with the Royal Scots and holds a timeless piece of history on its inner clasp.
Wright says each time he holds the watch in his hands he thinks of the sacrifices and contributions made by the men and women of that time.
Today David is charged with training the next generation of soldiers. As the deputy chief training officer, he is responsible for cadet training in Ontario.
"The role that each and everyone of us plays to the betterment of our country is a fundamental thing," he says. "The service that he had and the commitment that he had to his values is certainly something that has inspired me and I hope that in some small way I'm able to emulate that."
