Canadian general to receive royal tribute
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“Canadian general who accepted Nazi surrender in Netherlands to receive royal tribute
Princess Margriet to unveil plaque dedicated to Lt.-Gen. Charles Foulkes at Beechwood Cemetery Alistair Steele · CBC News · Posted: May 13, 2022 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: May 13 When Princess Margriet of the Netherlands lifts the veil on a bronze plaque at Ottawa's Beechwood Cemetery on Friday, she will be honouring a Canadian military figure who's arguably better remembered in her country than he is here. The plaque pays tribute to Lt.-Gen. Charles Foulkes, who died in Ottawa in 1969 and is buried at Beechwood. His grave is marked by a simple granite headstone, according to military tradition” Continue here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...aque-1.6448978 Lt.-Gen. Charles Foulkes, left, discusses the terms of surrender with Gen. Johannes Blaskowitz, centre right, on May 5, 1945, at the Hotel de Wereld in Wageningen, Netherlands. (Library and Archives Canada 3193142) Attachment 128636 Foulkes is seen riding in an armoured vehicle in August 1944, when he was commanding officer of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division during the Normandy campaign. (Library and Archives Canada 3205557) Attachment 128602 |
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Justin Trudeau, Canada’s PM, posted on FB:
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Hello Hanno.
Don Foulkes, the nephew of General Foulkes, is married to my cousin Sharon. She is the younger daughter of my Dad’s youngest brother. David |
Foulkes Beechwwod Plaque
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It is too bad that whoever wrote the text for the plaque was not very well informed about the Canadian Army and it appears that the research was based entirely on a Google search.
Attachment 128605 For instance the text states that, "AFTER UNIVERSITY, PROVING HIMSELF BY LEADING HIS DIVISION THROUGH THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN..." This is all well an good but to the casual reader 'his' division means nothing and it should read "BY LEADING 2ND CANADIAN INFANTRY DIVISION THROUGH THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN." Further along the sentence reads, "AND IN NOVEMBER 1944, WAS PROMOTED TO GENERAL OFFICER COMMANDING OF I CANADIAN CORPS IN ITALY." General Officer Commanding is an appointment and not a rank, as Foulkes was already GOC of 2nd Canadian Infantry Division he would have been promoted from Major-General to Lieutenant-General when taking command of I Corps. Perhaps "WAS PROMOTED TO LIEUTENANT-GENERAL AND GIVEN COMMAND OF I CORPS IN ITALY." would been a more accurate statement? The plaque also states, "IN 1951, HE BECAME THE FIRST-EVER CANADIAN TO BE APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF THE CHIEFS OF STAFF,..." Technically this is correct, but again, the casual reader will have no clue what that position actually was and may mistake it for being Chair of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. I am proposing that "IN 1951, HE WAS THE FIRST TO BE APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF THE CANADIAN CHIEFS OF STAFF COMMITTEE,..." might be less ambiguous. This is Canada, so perhaps there was some concern over the word count increasing the price of the plaque. I also wonder who proof-read the text before signing off on it? |
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Our PM over in Holland for this is rich, what with his open distain for our armed forces and our county's past. |
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I had the impression that the ceremony took place at the Beechwood Cemetary in Ottawa. There were certainly media reports that Princess Margriet was visiting Canada/Ottawa. |
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Was it not Princess Margriet, for whom the Canadian Government temporarily declared the Ottawa Maternity Ward in which she was born, territory of the Netherlands, so she would be born a Dutch National?
David |
Ottawa Hospital Ward
This is what Google has to say, "It is a common misconception that the Canadian government declared the maternity ward to be Dutch territory. That was not necessary, as Canada follows jus soli or citizenship of a nation, while the Netherlands follows jus sanguinis which means a person acquires citizenship through their parents. It was sufficient for Canada to disclaim the territory temporarily."
Beyond the politics of the PM and his masking, the simple fact that this plaque was delayed for two years and the mandarins in Ottawa still managed to produce an ambiguous text is I think an example of just how much lip-serve is paid to historical events. Spouting speaking points about not letting the future generations forget is commonplace at these events, but as I think I have pointed out, the most basic of details have already been forgotten and context in an unknown commodity. |
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I cannot follow that at all! :bang: I will just have to be happy with "there is a family connection". :giveup |
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As far as I can tell from reading the genealogy a few times, it works out like this:
Attachment 128638 Edit: And now with the correct names … (I had confused the names of the posters originally :( Apologies to all involved.) |
See! MLU is just one big family! :D
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And now Jakko, for the Mitochondrial dna and the 6 degrees of separation please? :D :devil:
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no politics, please
Sorry to hear some people are seeing (only) the political perpective of this. I've had an offline message asking to take a post down as that person dislikes Canada's PM.
This thread was to report on the remembrance of a Canadian veteran, it’s not about the dignitaries involved. Whether or not someone accepts those people as a dignitary is not the subject of this thread. |
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