Learning is Messy: identity

Today's theme: The Notion of the Missing During the First World War
Sites: Beaumont-Hamel (part of the Somme Offensive) and the British Monument & Interpretive Centre at Thiepval
Questions:
Why did so many go missing in 1916? How did the war change in 1917?
How Canadian was the Canadian Corps?
How significant was the Vimy Ridgee victory and the Canadian contribution?

Some thoughts or reflections on from the day... (not necessarily directly answering these questions)

Our tour guide spoke about identities being lost - not just missing people. Whole towns had to be rebuilt after the war (and again after WWII). This affects the community identity. Our tour guide spoke of a soldier who changed his name after the war and became a writer. (I can't remember more details than that - it was a long flight) I thought that was an other interesting interpretation of the missing or lost after the war. Not only those men who were physically missing, but also all the men suffering from PTSD ("shellshock" at the time) who lost a piece of themselves that maybe not everyone could see.
The memorial sites we visited today were not celebrations of victory, but were about honouring the lost soldiers. The Beaumont-Hamel guide spoke about it being a place for not only the British (including the Newfoundland regiment) and French, but also a place for Germans to come to remember losses. Someone (I'm sorry I can't remember who - I'm tired) also pointed out the losses are different than today. There were a lot more, and most (all) couldn't get a proper burial. Many families have no place to go to honour their lost. Today, we are able to bring home our fallen soldiers and have things like the Highway of Heroes to honour them as they return to their loved ones. It reminded me a little about this article from a year ago about the differences in the way countries remember the war.