Attention!
Cette vidéo est disponible en anglais seulement.
Description
Mr. Spracklin describes what November 11th means to him and what he does during this time of year. He also describes what July 1st means to him as a Newfoundlander.
Transcription
November 11th and July 1st
For years I spent it in Ottawa Memorial and took great pride in it, but these last couple of years I’ve been a bit cripple and, and I haven’t gone down. I used to go down with a group called “the Singing Legionnaires” and we used to partake and I really enjoyed that but it, it was a sombre time, but this last two years I just stayed home and watched TV. The time comes when you, you get to 87 years old, when you don’t want to go anywhere.
Interviewer: So you watched the service on television?
Yes.
July 1st, I don’t know how to say this but since we have joined Canada, in more recent years they have taken away from us, it’s become Canada Day, but I like to celebrate the real cause for Newfoundland. I don’t know if I’m mean because of that or what, but I think those boys that got slaughtered from Newfoundland should still be top for us here, but Canada Day has taken over. Rightly or wrongly, I don’t know.
Interviewer: And that day, of course, was the day in 1916 when the Royal Newfoundland Regiment was wiped out at Beaumont-Hamel.
Yes, yes.
Interviewer: And that’s a day that you feel very strongly about?
Yes sir, I do so, right from my heart. I hope we can keep it pretty close, but it’s, and I suppose with the passing of time it got to happen, I don’t know but it was a real sombre day in Newfoundland for us when I came back from overseas and for a lot of years but since we joined Confederation seems like we’re losing it, but I don’t know, I suppose it got to happen.