I'm back from a week up north at a cottage, during the only day of rain we had for the week we decided to make a day trip to Ottawa. My wife went to the national Art gallery and I chose to head to the brand new war museum. The two hours I spent there were hurried, but well worth it and i finally got to see first hand the information panels the museum has up regarding the bombing campaign which has upset so many veterans and supporters alike.
When I first read the panels, I was on the fence as to whether or not they were as bad as I suspected. For one, the bombing campaign display that was there was quite sparse and a little disappointing IMO. The panel in question was also somewhat difficult to find amidst the other paintings and artifacts but I eventually found it.
What changed my mind about the panel were the two young men in front of me that were reading the panel. One of them was Chinese and the other gent was explaining in english what the panel had written on it.
He paraphrased to his friend was that the campaign was essentially ineffective and mostly resulted in the deaths of innocent civilians. I believe his exact words were "a waste of time."
IMO opinion that in a nutshell is the problem with the panels, to the tourist with limited or no knowledge of the campaign, the only bit of information they will walk away with is that there were many civilains killed. Which was certainly true, but the exhibit did nothing that I could see to celebrate the many successes of the campaign as well and therein lies the danger.
Hopefully, with the museum under new management they will revise the wording on the panels to be a bit more balanced and perhaps incite the curiousity of the viewer to explore the campaign for themselves and make their own determination without skew or bias.
See the attached photos of the panels in question....
Just thought I would let you know I had an email from Don Elliott (Pappy to the Kriegies) in Ontario who is on the committee with respect to the controversay of the plaques. He let me know that the museum has agreed to change the wording (likely in the fall) and the committee sent a proposal to them on July12 which the museum could reword where they deemed necessary. If the committee did not agree to any changes made in their proposal, they requested a meeting between the two parties. To date they have not received a response. Regards Leslie
Thank you for your input on Matt's E-mail and we are all concerned about the outcome of the plaque controversy. I, myself, will be looking at the plaque on September 26th as I am planning a week's visit to Ontario to take in all of the Air Museums. Do they allow cameras?
If you would E-mail back to Don Elliott, please tell him that Wilkie Wanless, our P.O.W. Group President, has had a very serious fall, and will be in the Rockyview Hospital for some time, room 4704 (2). His Wife, Dorothy, is also in a bad state and has limited time left.
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-- Edited by pasbanseo on Saturday 28th of February 2015 12:49:39 AM
