“Think of any great man or woman. How can you separate them from the years in which they lived? You can’t. Their greatness lies in their response to that moment.” ~ Timothy Findley, The Wars

It’s a sobering idea to grasp that, on the street you live on now, there once lived a young soldier who enlisted and died at Vimy Ridge, France, at the age of 23. My house would have been built nearly 50 years after his death. Residing at number 43A, Private Frank Williams, son of Mrs. Rose Williams, would have had the same view of the lake from the top of the bluffs, the same walk up to the old Kingston Road highway. Now he lies buried at the Vimy Memorial in Pas-de-Calais, cause of death unknown.

If you’re interested in finding out about the WWI soldiers who may have once lived on your own Toronto street, take a look at Global News’ “War Casualty Map”. The location of each soldier’s house is marked by a poppy. Though we all know that 60,000 Canadians died in the First World War, the abundance of flowers is still overwhelming.

This April, my father and brother and I are traveling to France to visit all the major battlefields and memorials of the First and Second World War. We start our trip in Paris, which I’ve never been to before. Who better to accompany you to the city of love than your father and brother?

I am looking forward to seeing the Vimy Ridge Memorial in person – the final resting place of our neighbour from times past.