Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.11.2018, Side 7

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Lögberg-Heimskringla • 15. nóvember 2018 • 7
to the country to participate in
the war. It was not just because
of an obligation to his nation,
though, that he enlisted in the
army, and as stated on February
6, 1917: “I am in good health
and am looking forward to
seeing France, whatever it
may have in store for me.”
Optimistic and enthusiastic
sentiments about the war were
not just limited to Private
Polson, but were also shared
by others, including Dr. Steinn
Olafur Thompson, an Icelandic
medical student who enlisted in
the 11th Ambulance Battalion.
Dr. S.O. Thompson was
a medical student at the
University of Manitoba when
he was recruited into the 11th
Field Ambulance Battalion. In
the military, he served at the
Battle of the Somme, the Battle
of Vimy Ridge, and the Battle
of Passchendaele where he was
injured. On October 4, 1916,
prior to being sent to the front
line at the Somme, Thompson
wrote: “We are on the way to
the Somme, and shortly we
will be in the thick of the most
murderous inferno that has ever
cursed this earth. I look forward
with keen anticipation to the
adventures that are to come.”
This is a very eye-opening
perspective to think about, as
we know the devastation caused
in the Battle of the Somme,
but still, he and likely many
others were excited and eager to
participate in the battle.
The tragedy in the thinking
of Polson, Thompson, and
countless others is how quickly
thinking switches as soon as the
men return from the front lines.
Archibald Polson was injured
at the Battle of Vimy Ridge
and wrote while recovering
in hospital on May 3, 1917: “I
told Frank [who was Archie’s
cousin] to stay away from
France as long as he could, and
not to be too anxious to get there.
There is a saying amongst some
of the boys in the trenches that
‘it’s better to be a living coward
than a dead hero.’” This is a
gut-wrenching thought, as after
witnessing and being directly
impacted and injured in the
fighting, Private Polson became
“afraid that some of the boys
from home would never come
back,” and that this included
his cousin Frank. He also had
several friends who had enlisted
in the army that he maintained
contact with throughout his time
overseas, and he shared similar
sentiments with them.
A similar shift in thinking
was seen in the diary entries of
Dr. S.O. Thompson. He lost his
war diary in October of 1916,
but was reunited with it in
January of 1917 and wrote this
about the battle on the 25th of
that month:
“The morale of the troops
was entirely gone. Shellfire,
the weather, the miserable mess
of the 44th [Battalion], and 5
weeks in the hell of it on the
Somme all played their part. The
High Command, however, was
only waiting for a let up in the
weather to send the men over on
another wild charge into death
and oblivion. And it came.”
The language used in the
writing of both Private Polson
and Dr. Thompson speaks to a
definitive shift in thinking seen
prior to fighting on the front
lines and returning from the
front lines. These shifts need to
be appreciated and remembered,
as many of the young people
who enlisted in the military
during the First World War were
not prepared for and were not
aware of the realities that existed
across the ocean. They were
prepared physically, at training
facilities such as those at Camp
Hughes, west of Carberry,
Manitoba, however they were
not prepared emotionally for
what was to come, which is a
travesty.
In order to provide the
public with additional exposure
to the involvement of Icelanders
in the First World War, and the
opinions that were held about
the war by both Icelanders on
the home front, and from those
overseas, I have created an
exhibit that will be on display
at the New Iceland Heritage
Museum in Gimli, Manitoba,
from November 3, 2018, to
December 31, 2018. The idea to
create a museum exhibit about
the involvement of Icelanders
in the war came to me in my
second year working at the
NIHM, when I began working
in the archives with the artifacts.
I found a military helmet from
the First World War era, and was
intrigued by it, and wanted to
put it on display at the museum.
As the museum did not have
any pertinent space in their
permanent gallery to place a
military artifact, I approached
the executive director of the
museum, who at that time was
Tammy Axelsson, and asked her
if I could curate an exhibit about
the involvement of Icelanders in
the war. The name of the exhibit,
The First World War: Icelandic
Canadian Perspectives, was
derived from the direction that
my research took thanks to input
from Dr. Ryan Eyford at the
University of Winnipeg. As my
research became more focused
on the opinions that Icelanders
held about the war, I felt that
it was important to create the
exhibit with this in mind to open
up more of a conversation about
contemporary perspectives
about war.
The first section of the exhibit
focuses on the involvement
of Icelanders in the war and
sheds light on two battalions
of the Canadian Expeditionary
Force (CEF) that had a large
number of Icelanders in them.
The first is the 223rd (Canadian
Scandinavian) Battalion in
which approximately 30 percent
of the battalion’s members
were Icelanders. The second
is the 108th Battalion in which
approximately 10 percent of
the battalion’s members were
Icelanders. Accompanying the
panels are framed pictures of
the 223rd and 108th Battalions.
Two photographs of the 108th
Battalion were generously
loaned for use in this exhibit by
Frank Wilson. There are also
a number of military badges
and pins on display from the
223rd and 108th Battalions, as
well as a few other battalions
that are notable because of the
numbers of Icelanders who
enlisted in them. I would like to
thank Bruce Tascona, director
of the Manitoba World War
One Museum in Pilot Mound,
Manitoba, for lending these
artifacts for use in the exhibit.
The second section of
the exhibit illustrates the
perspectives of Icelanders who
fought in the war, with a special
focus on Private Archibald
John Polson, whose letters
and correspondence were a
large part of my research. This
section of the exhibit provides
a brief history of Private Polson
and highlights some of his
perspectives about the war as
he experienced it. Also featured
here is a variety of postcards,
letters, and photographs that
Private Polson sent to members
of his family and friends during
the war. These serve to provide
additional context into how
Private Polson felt about the
war, and as importantly, how
his family felt about the war and
him being overseas. I would like
to extend a sincere thank you
to Tom Goodman, a nephew
of Archie Polson, who loaned
these documents to me for use
in this exhibit.
Visitors to the museum will
also be able to see a transcription
of a war diary from 1916 to 1917
created by Dr. Steinn Olafur
Thompson, who practiced
medicine in Riverton after the
war ended. This transcript was
graciously provided to me by
Heather McIntosh, who is a
relative of Dr. Thompson. This
war diary is a unique addition
to the exhibit, as visitors will be
able to see a first-hand account
of some notable battles of World
War I: the Battle of the Somme,
the Battle of Vimy Ridge, and
the Battle of Passchendaele.
On a related topic, the
exhibit features artifacts such
as military uniforms, a helmet,
and a gas mask, which speak
to the experiences of Icelanders
fighting overseas and provide
visitors with a look at the
tools used by soldiers fighting
overseas. The majority of these
artifacts were loaned for use
in the exhibit by Frederick
Carsted. Additionally, there are
a variety of pictures on display
that highlight Icelandic soldiers
who enlisted in the army and
these are accompanied, where
possible, by a brief biography of
the men, including the battalions
that they enlisted in and the
battles they were involved in.
The third section of
the exhibit highlights the
perspectives that Icelanders
on the home front held about
the war, beginning with those
who supported the war through
philanthropic efforts. This
is followed by a discussion
of viewpoints of Icelanders
who were opposed to the war
and quotes that speak to the
impact that the war had on the
community. The purpose of
this portion of the exhibit is to
illustrate the various viewpoints
that existed about the war and
open up conversation about how
wars in the past impacted those
on the home front – and how
conflicts today are impacting us
in Canada.
Finally, to commemorate
all of the Icelandic soldiers
who fought in the war and
memorialize those who were
killed in action, the last section of
the exhibit contains panels with
the names of all of the Icelandic
soldiers in the First World War.
The names of soldiers were
found in Minningarrit Íslenzkra
Hermanna, a book published
by the Jon Sigurdsson Chapter
IODE in 1923 to recognize
the involvement of Icelandic
soldiers in the war.
This exhibit acknowledges
the contributions and sacrifices
made by the soldiers who
enlisted in the military during
the conflict. It also draws
attention to the perspectives
that Icelanders on the home
front and overseas held about
the war. As we mark the 100th
anniversary of the Armistice,
we must make a conscious
effort to never forget, which is
the central goal of this exhibit,
The First World War: Icelandic
Canadian Perspectives.
MORE PHOTOS PAGE 9
PHOTOS: NEW ICELAND HERITAGE MUSEUM
Madison pointing to one of the Icelandic soldiers
PHOTO: MADISON HERGET-SCHMIDT
A wall of honour showing the names of Icelandic soldiers in
the First World War