Masks to help protect us

A Canadian soldier and horse wearing gas masks.
Photo: Library and Archives Canada

Neigh! I’m Bonfire Jr. the horse. COVID-19 has taught us a lot about the importance of wearing masks for personal safety. However, did you know that this was definitely not the first time that humans—and animals, too—have worn special masks to stay safe?

More than a century ago, my great-great-great-grandfather was a horse serving in the First World War. That conflict was extremely brutal. Armies even used poison gas against their enemies. The toxic chemicals in the air damaged the lungs and could be deadly, so gas masks were soon invented for protection.

I found a neat display in the museum that had an old gas mask from the war. Beside it was a photograph of a horse and soldier both wearing one. I imagine they must have been hard to use, but I’m glad they offered some protection—a little like how we have worn masks of our own this year to be safer.

This year is the 105^th anniversary of a battle that took place at Beaumont-Hamel in France. It was there that the Newfoundland Regiment went into action on 1 July 1916 and many of the soldiers were killed or wounded. Canadian troops would also fight in the Battle of the Somme later that summer and fall, and gas masks like the one I found often had to be used. We will remember all of our brave soldiers and animals who helped bring peace.