9
099Tour brings history students to battle sites09090909090Monday, July 3, 2006   
It is one thing to read about the Canadian soldiers' troubles in France during World War II, but studying the wars firsthand with a trip to Dieppe, seeing the cliffs, and realizing all the problems that they faced that day is an experience that has helped Brandon Dimmel and John Lamming put their readings in perspective.~

The two history master's students were the first ever selected from the University of Windsor for the battlestudy bursary from the Canadian Battlefields Foundation, June 2 to 17. They joined 16 students from 11 universities for the study of Canada's contribution in Europe.

The students visited World War I sites at Vimy Ridge and Somme before moving on to the beaches of Normandy and the battlefields of Dieppe, Caen, Verriers Ridge and Falaise. The tour also included many Commonwealth and Canadian cemeteries, and La Cambe, a German cemetery where over 40,000 German soldiers are buried.

“I worked for professor Robert Deniesch, during the summer of 2005 at the University of Windsor. He said that I was suited for the tour, and should apply,” says Lamming. “It seemed interesting and was something that I did not know nearly enough about, so I thought I should throw my hat in and see if I was awarded the chance to go to Europe and study Canada's contribution in Normandy.”

Dimmel saw the poster in the history department.

“I wanted to see France and the history from WWII and it is everything that it is hyped up to be. John didn’t want me to sign up at first because he didn’t want to ruin his chances of being selected, but I sent in a transcript, an outline about why I was interested and why I wanted to go, and what my future plans would be,” he says. "It turned out to be good that we were both picked."

Both students have a deep interest in WWI and WWII as they each have family members that served in the wars. Dimmel is entering the education program at the university, with thoughts of a doctorate, and completed his masters on Windsor and Detroit’s connection during WWI.

“Being on Juno Beach on D-day while O Canada was being played was very moving moment for me. We also went to a cemetery in Vimy that had a huge church and rows upon rows of monuments the size of them alone was incredible,” says Dimmel. "The WWI cemetery in Germany that we went to was very eerie. All the other days were clear and nice but this day was cloudy and rainy. You could see the strong emotions on the faces of some of the others.”

Lamming, who had a special interest in walking the beaches of Dieppe with the strong link to Windsor, plans to pursue a career either with law enforcement or with the Canadian Armed Forces.

“We can only learn so much by doing the readings, but by visiting the territory and seeing the best surviving primary source, one becomes incredibly skeptical of any future reading where the layout of the land is explained,” says Lamming. “Only by walking the best surviving primary source can you get a better understanding of what occurred, and gain that information or experience to pass on to others back home.”

—Marina Garbutt