Photographer’s new book tells the stories behind Canada’s war graves and monuments

Halifax, Nova Scotia author and photographer Len Wagg discovered the power and poignancy of war cemeteries during a day off 30 years ago in Italy. His assignment for the Halifax Chronicle Herald led him to the Agira Canadian War Cemetery in Sicily, where he witnessed immaculately maintained lawns and pine trees surrounding rows of headstones inscribed with the names of Canadians who served during World War II.

This experience inspired him to write a story that resonated with many readers, some of whom sought to locate where their fathers had died overseas.

Over the past five years, Wagg has traveled across Canada and Europe, capturing images of war graves, monuments, and other sites for his new book, "At Home and Beyond: Honouring Canada's War Dead." The book features well-known locations such as Vimy Ridge, Juno Beach, and the grave of poet John McCrae, who penned "In Flanders Fields." However, it also delves into the stories of those who maintain and honor these monuments and contribute to remembering Canada's war dead.

More than 110,000 Canadians are buried overseas at over 5,800 sites, while another 27,000 have no known graves. Wagg emphasizes that the book focuses on the people involved, dedicating chapters to Canadian war nurses, organizers of newer memorials like Last Steps, and individual soldiers like Pte. George Lawrence Price, the last Commonwealth soldier to die in World War I. Price was killed by a sniper just minutes before the armistice took effect on November 11, 1918.

Wagg also profiles Sarah Lockyer and her team at the Department of National Defence's casualty identification unit in Ottawa. This group uses DNA analysis and other tools to identify Canadians buried in unmarked graves, allowing them to receive full military funerals in France. Wagg was particularly moved by the quote from Lockyer, who said, "They gave their lives for the country. It's the least we can do to give them back their names."

The book's foreword is written by Warren (Whitey) Bernard, a 91-year-old Tofino, B.C., resident featured in a famous photograph known as "Wait for Me Daddy." The image, taken in 1940, shows a young Bernard reaching for his father's hand as he marches off to war in New Westminster, B.C. The photo was once displayed in every school in British Columbia and has since inspired a bronze statue, souvenir coins, and a stamp.

Bernard appreciated Wagg's passion for the project, noting that the photographer was not interested in a quick five-minute or two-minute shot, but rather in the story behind the image.