Highlighting a Second World War scrapbook of memories

Although the 2008 ceremonies on Nov. 11 (Remembrance Day) are over, I could not let November pass without noting this important benchmark. Without doubt it is one of the most significant dates in local, national and world history.
Originally, the day marked the end of World War One; however, over time it has evolved in Canada as an occasion to honour and remember the fallen in all the wars and peacekeeping assignments undertaken by our service men and women.
Since the commemorative medium that I will be using later in this Flashback is a scrapbook or more properly "A Book of Memories" relating to WWII, it may come as a surprise to learn that scrapbooking is not a modern art. It's traceable to at least the 16th century.
First known as "Commonplace Books," they were used to record practical information - for example poetry, songs, prayers and medical cures. Instead of trying to remember all this information, it was written in a "Commonplace Book."
By the 20th century, scrapbooks began to include many other items such as newspaper articles, recipes and illustrations. The advent of the penny postcard gave a tremendous boost to scrapbooking. Saving and preserving postcards became a means of remembering family travels and experiences.
One such scrapbook in my possession details the life and times of a great aunt who migrated to the "Boston States" in the early 1900s. She kept in touch largely by means of postcards. Their popularity was very similiar to modern day e-mails!
Although photography was then in its infancy, the scrapbook also includes some early examples of "tin-types" which helped fill in family genealogical details. (Tin-types were a form of photography in which pictures were reproduced on tin plates). Also within the scrapbook there were a few yellowed, but still legible, newspaper clippings.
It has to be recognized that, for a period in the mid-20th century, scrapbooking fell into disfavour. In particular, the strides made by photography meant that photo albums and other forms of recording information took their place. For a time colour slides were all the rage; however, even their popularity has largely died out.
As so often happens, "the wheel has come full circle" and scrapbooking has become, once more, a hobby for many people. Why has this happened? There are probably as many answers as there are anthropologists whose business it is to account for changes in society. However, there does seem to be consensus that interest in genealogy is, in part, a reaction against the conformity of the contemporary world.
If this trend has a beginning, it can probably be traced to the year 1975 and the publication by an Afro-American author Alex Haley (1921-1992) of his now famous genealogical study entitled Roots.
Roots was later to be published in 37 languages and Haley won a special award in 1977 from the Pulitzer Board. The book also became a popular television mini-series. Remarkably, it reached a record-breaking 130 million viewers when serialized on television. Many people, inspired by Roots, began recording their own family history through the medium of scrapbooks.
Recently I had the privilege to review one such scrapbook which highlighted the Second World War experiences of a well-known Sackvillian who served with distinction in the RCAF. It is literally "a book of memories" and traces the wartime career of Flight Lieutenant Douglas Hamm DFC, a native of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia and, since June 1946, a resident of Sackville.
Space will not permit a full summary of his wartime service; accordingly, I've decided to concentrate on the events that led to his being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Here is a newspaper account of what took place on one memorable night patrol.
"Veteran pilots of the RCAF Night Hawk Squadron gave out unstinted praise for one of the squadron's newest crews when they brought home a Mosquito night fighter that had been badly mauled by flak over the Western Front. The pilot was Flying Officer E. E. Hermanson of Buchanan, Saskatchewan [located in east central Saskatchewan] and the navigator, Flight Lieutenant Douglas Hamm, of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. "
In the pilot's words: "We returned from a night patrol with two thirds of our port elevator blown off and the port flap shot away. The motor cowling was liberally sprinkled with shrapnel holes and one blade of the propellor was holed. . . We thought that we had been hit, but had no idea of the damage done."
Once on the ground, the two crew members discovered "the jagged wood and the metal stub where the elevator had been and the gaping hole that was once a flap."
A few months later in April 1945, the same two airmen were responsible for "administering the Coup de Grace to the fast dwindling Luftwaffe by shooting down three enemy aircraft in one night. This "hat trick" was a rare feat in the field where outstanding events frequently occured.
Later, Douglas Hamm was to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). His citation read: "As a navigator, this officer displayed a high degree of skill, keenness and co-operation . . . resolute and determined . . . he proved himself invaluable to his squadron."
It should be noted that the DFC is awarded for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty performed while flying in active operations against the enemy."
A congratulatory letter to Hamm received from Air Vice-Marshal C. R. Slemon reads as follows: "Air Marshal Johnson asked me to proffer you his congratulations on the award bestowed upon you by His Majesty of the Distinguished Flying Cross . . . You have merited this coveted honour which brings well earned distinction to yourself and to the Royal Canadian Air Force."
By 2008, time has taken its toll, and the number of World War II veterans is fast dwindling. Accordingly, this is all the more reason for retelling stories of their valour and courage on behalf of us all.
Ideas for, or comments about Tantramar Flashbacks, may be addressed to Bill Hamilton c/o the Sackville Tribune Post, 80 Main Street, Sackville, NB, E4L 4A7, or via e-mail at tribune@nbnet,nb.ca.