2nd Quarter 2017 Number 52 ASSOCIATION « LOOS,SUR LES TRACE S DE LA GRANDE GUERRE » L’Écho des tranchées President ’ s note For those who were at the pre - inauguration of the obelisk of Hill 70, the memory will stay for a long time. We have only to regret the low number of guests (maybe In this issue : because of “ the security ”). Jean - François Caron, during his speech on April 8th, recalled our actions and those - President ’ s note 1 of the association Mosahic, commemorating men over several decades. Thanks to - Canadian Memorial 2 - Our association ’ s life 3 him for honoring our association. - Filip Konowal, héro of 4 Hill 70 Battle These days were notable for our meetings with Mark Hutchings, the president of this memorial (he visited our underground passages in 2010), those with the great grand- son of General Currie, and the exhibition in the library with Lubomyr Luciuk, a tea- cher at Toronto University, who explained to us the amazing journey of Corporal Konoval, hero of the battle on Hill 70. Concerning our museum, the new showcases please the children because they can see all the objects in the museum Alexandre Villedieu. We should, for the inaugura- tion on August 22nd, have finished the installation of 5 showcases. Thus we will be able to exhibit Alain Scaps ’ collection. The work created by the Inter - disciplinary Practical Education Department of the Lycee Robespierre in Lens, a “ memory ” work of 6 months, has been given to us: it is a model of the obelisk of Hill 70; it is on display in the museum now. This model was formally welcomed by Louis Dreux, Yves Duraisin and myself, on June 22nd, with Mr Tellier, headmaster, Mrs Gosselin, assistant of the headmaster, and Mr MINISTERE DE LA DEFENSE Charles, a technology teacher, on the invitation of Mrs Béatrice Paluskevitcz. We invited the families and the teachers of this high school to come and see the model in the museum. Alfred DUPARCQ You can download this magazine from the Association ’ s website http:// loos1915.pagespersoorange.fr/ from the tab Echo des Tranchées where you will also find full details of our activities, the Battles of Loos, military cemeteries, local heroes, outings, a forum, and plenty of practical information. « Chemins de Mémoire » ASSOCIATION Téléphone : 06 09 46 48 65 «LOOS, SUR LES TRACES DE LA GRANDE Place de la République Télécopie : 03 21 69 88 79 GUERRE » 62750 Loos en Gohelle Messagerie : [email protected] I.P.N.S L’Écho des tranchées Page 2 Report on the pre - inauguration of the Canadian Memorial in Loos - en - Gohelle It was a hot and sunny day on the 8th of April for the pre - inauguration of the Canadian memorial of Hill 70 in Loos - en - Gohelle. Our commune had the honor to welcome several well - known personalities, among them, His Excellency David Johnson, the Governor - General of Canada and representative of Queen Elizabeth II. This event preceded the ceremony of the following day in Vimy, ma r- king the centenary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The official inauguration of the Loos memorial will take place on August 22nd , 2017. Our town will welcome several representatives from a lot of countries, mainly from Canada. This ceremony will be open t o the public and our association hope that this day will be a great success and will stay long in the memory of the inhabitants . The stele at the entrance of Hill 70 Memorial and the obelisk which dominates the site Our Mayor , M. Caron, with the Great Grandson of Gene- This day saw the reunion between Alfred Duparcq and Mark Hit- ral Currie, who commanded the Canadian soldiers during chings. 7 years ago to the day, Alfred showed Mark around the the Battle of Hill 70 in 1917. underground passages of Loos (now closed). M. Lubomyr Luciuk during his speech The day before, on the 7th of We are proud that our town of Loos April, a reception was organized - en - Gohelle is known and honored with Lubomyr Luciuk, a writer and in Canada and in other countries a teacher. He is Canadian with like Australia, New Zealand, etc. Ukrainian ethnic background. During the 1st semester of 2017, He introduced his book in which we had lots of visitors, which are he told us about the life of Filip the proof. Konowal (we ’ ll talk about him later in this issue). I.P.N.S Page 3 L’Écho des tranchées Visits of Alexandre Villedieu Museum Mr & Mrs STOTT from Luton (UK). The Great - Great Uncle died at Loos Pupils from the EPIDE in Cambrai, with the teachers. Visit with the pupils of the middle school, directed by Yves Duraisin Refurbishment of our museum New showcases will take their place in the museum. It will permit us to show more of the many ob- jects that we already hold, received regularly as donations from the people of Loos, or collections which often come to enrich our heritage. The state of conservation of our heritage often amazes visitors of the museum who are also amazed by the variety of objects that make up it. L’Écho des tranchées Page 4 Filip Konowal, Hero of the Hill 70 Battle If you go on foot to visit the obelisk in memory of all the soldiers who fought at Loos, you will be walking along a path named after Filip Konowal. Who is he? Who is this man who was decorated with the Victoria Cross and the Russian Cross of St George? Filip Konowal was born in UKRAINE. He arrived in Cana- da when he was 21. The Ukrainians, backers of Austria - Hungary, were considered as enemies for the Canadians. Filip lied about his nationality. In - deed, he said that he was Russian and he succeeded in joining the 47th Infantry Bat- talion, which took part in the battle at Lens on the 15th Au- gust, 1917. The legend: Filip Konowal, fed up with being in the trench, and in the mud, decides to do a surprising thing, alone, in the face of the enemy ’ s machine guns. He gets out of the trench. His captain thought Filip was a deserter, so he shot at him with his gun but he missed. But there is something he doesn ’ t know: The Germans have mostly left the front line, leaving a few soldiers, who just want to surrender. Alone, Filip brought back to the trench and in front of his captain, 16 German soldiers and 2 machine guns. The truth: During the attack, he has to “ clear out ” the cellars, the shelters, the shell - holes. Seeing a German ma- chine gun in action, he killed with his bayonet the gunner and his 2 assistants and destroyed the weapon. Crazy with anger, he also killed with his bayonet 7 enemy soldiers in a shell - hole. Then, he saw another machine gun shooting at his comrades, so he managed to put it out of action and bring it back to the Canadian side. In 2 days, he killed 16 Germans without firing a shot. Suffering mental problems because of all his injuries, he was put in a psychiatric hospital. He will be released and got work as a junior caretaker on Parliament Hill. Spotted washing floors by Prime Minister, he was reassigned as the special custodian for the Prime Minister's Office, a post he held until his death on 3rd June 1959, aged 72. Ko- nowal was buried by his regiment with full military honours, in Notre - Dame Cemetery in Ottawa. In addition to the Victoria Cross, Konowal will receive from the hands of His Majesty Elisabeth II, the Cross of Saint George in 1939. Alfred Duparcq Source : Lubomyr Luciuk (Canada) Lens Conference and Air Meeting On September 8, 2017, Gilles Payen and David Godly will give a conference about Hill 70 Battle at the Mediathèque of Loos, an event organised by the Tourism Office of Lens. On September 9 and 10, Air Show in Lens - Benifontaine, on the theme Canada, Vimy and Hill 70. I.P.N.S .