Cemetery of the fallen at Beny-sur-Mer

With the war at an end, the dead who had not been consumed by mud and buried trenches were at least buried in military cemeteries where their graves were in the thousands. Despite the repetition of the same grave, it conveyed the sheer scale of how many soldiers had fought as well as perished. The war was depicted as something noble that Canadian fought for, and even though they had gained their renown and recognition from the world, it had to be asked at what cost? The exact cost can never truly be measured, but what was a fact was that at least 66,000 perished and a further 170,000 received wounds of some sort, and not to mention the mental toll as well. 10% of the Canadian population directly fought or was involved in some way during the war, and that 10% would be irreversibly changed. This cemetery at Beny-sur-Mer was one of the many that would contain the fallen who may not have all had noble deaths, but they at least died for a cause that would bear fruit.

Bibliography

[1] Photographer unknown, Canadian cemetery in Beny-sur-Mer, ca.1914, Government of Canada Archives / Collections and Fonds, https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?idnumber=4948587&app=fonandcol