The Lesson of Resilience - as Taught by a WWI Veteran

The Oxford dictionary defines resilience as “the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness”. I can think of no one other than Lt. Lionel Cherry Gilmour who, for me, embodies the notion of resilience in the face of incredible adversity. So, in honour of this coming Remembrance Day, I wanted to share my family story of “Leo” with this network.

?Back in 1915, Leo worked as the local pharmacist in the small town of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Married and living with his in-laws, his wife was very pregnant with their first child.? It was a comfortable enough life, but the First World war was raging overseas and in April 1918, Leo was called up to serve in the RAF (208 Squadron). When Leo departed, Grace was very ill with whatever terrible disease was circulating back then. Leo sent her telegrams as he made his way by train to the east coast before boarding a ship for England. Upon disembarking 12 days later, he was devastated to learn that both Grace and the baby had died. Working through his grief, he sent letters to Grace’s mother (her name was Lucy) for consolation - he wrote “I always want to be by myself for it is then I am closer to Grace. Truly my heart is broken but I do not want it mended…”.?

But, the war raged on. As soon as he finished air-force training, Leo was sent into active duty, flying Camel aircraft. With roughly 70 active flight hours and various missions accomplished, Leo was shot down in a dogfight at 11,000 feet on July 31, 1918 near the village of Estevelles in France. Amazingly he survived the plunge to earth writing “It was Providence that saved my life alone, for never before had I realized what a rain of bullets were. I was dizzy from spinning and sick with fumes of petrol but once again I put my machine into a spin, coming out only in time to land”. He did land but the enemy was waiting and so he spent the remaining time of the war in a PoW camp.

Once the war ended, Leo returned home to visit Grace’s grave and grieve her properly. During his time abroad, Grace’s family had moved back to Toronto and so Leo was very much alone. He continued to write letters but realized he had to find a way to rebuild his life. Finally, he met a woman and they decided to marry. He wrote to Lucy “Grace is my first love and I will always hold her in my memory as such….I am to be married January 11th”.? Leo and his new wife had two children and settled in Moose Jaw but with the onset of the Great Depression came the need to move in order to survive. He packed up his young family and took them west, bound for California but they never made it past Seattle. He worked in a mediocre pharmacy job with a company that didn’t treat him very well, but he knew that he was providing for his family and making a life. I can’t even imagine where he found the energy, the courage, or the toughness to overcome the incredible challenges life threw his way.

If this isn’t the epitome of resilience, I’m not sure what would qualify.

In fact, Leo Gilmour was married to my Grandfather’s sister. It was my great-grandmother Lucy to whom he was writing, pouring out the devastation in his heart. I came into possession of these telegrams and letters about 15 years ago and decided to track down Leo’s only surviving child – his son Jay Gilmour. It took me a few years to find him but indeed I did – and we’ve been friends ever since. Today Jay is 95 years young and was the President of Boeing Japan when he retired. Leo would have been so proud. I think Jay would tell you that his father and family taught him many important lessons in life but this lesson in resilience stands out for me. Funny enough, Jay and I share a passion for family history and he had paid someone to research his dad’s military career, including the details of the dogfight that he lost, even with the name and family details of the German pilot.

I speak to my daughters often about the notion of resilience – or whatever you want to call it:? mental toughness, getting back on the horse, putting one foot in front of the other. I spoke to someone recently about developing the ability to build ‘moments of courage’. Mostly though in times of tribulation, I tell myself – just be more like Leo.