Anyone who’s seen what’s affectionately known as ‘The Chicken Lady’ in downtown Cochrane (real name Legacy), or the statue of the soldier at the Cenotaph, may not realize both sculptures were done by local celebrity Don Begg.
A whirlwind couple of weeks for Begg finally ended up in his home studio this week, as he reflected on his trip to France and all the accolades he received for his latest creation.
He was honoured to have been commissioned by the Royal Regina Rifles (one of the first Canadian regiments to make landfall on Juno Beach on D-Day) to do an eight-foot tall bronze sculpting of a WWII rifleman in combat. The unveiling of Begg’s eight-foot tall sculpture was part of the official ceremony in France on the 80th anniversary of D-Day, June 6.
He joined Princess Anne for the ceremony in the town of Brettville l'Orgueilleuse in the Place des Canadians.
Along with other dignitaries, Begg and his wife Shirley were taken on a tour of the underground caverns and canals where the soldiers hid from the Germans, and followed the original path taken by Canadian soldiers as they fought their way from the shore to establish an outpost near Brettville.
“They got the furthest inland from the ocean, and they held that spot and took it away from the Germans,” Begg said.
There was an unveiling of the statue in Saskatchewan previously, and on top of all that, he was informed recently he’d been chosen as a recipient of an Alberta Order of Excellence. The formal ceremony for that will be this fall.
The humble, soft-spoken Cochrane sculptor doesn’t reveal his age in an interview a day after he got home, saying only he remembers his 16th birthday because he could drive and his 21st because he could go to the pub for a beer, but after that “It doesn’t matter.”
He’s been around for a while, running his studio here in Cochrane since 1970, although this year will be one to remember.
A tour of the 13,000 square-foot Studio West facility reveals a multitude of impressive commissioned works for a wide variety of private and public clients across the country.
He’s met royalty, famous politicians and many other prominent personalities.
In France on June 6, once the statue was dedicated, about 400 people joined the reception in the afternoon, followed by a formal dinner that evening.
“It was an honour to be asked,” Begg said. “It was a great honour to be part of it, to make a statue to honour the young men and women who went and signed up of their own accord to go and fight in the war.
“They weren’t forced – they did it on their own,” he added.
Visiting Canadian grave sites was especially moving for Begg.
“There were quite a number of brothers. One family, there were six of them,” he said.
“There were farmers, teachers, lawyers, doctors, merchants – they all signed up. They thought it was the thing to do, defend our country.”
At the cemetery Begg took note of the ages of the Canadian soldiers – 18, 19, maybe 20 years old.
“Some were younger – they just lied about their age,” he said.
Some had never seen an ocean before, he added.
Begg and others on the tour were shown the trenches and rode in jeeps along where the battle took place, sometimes with 100 yards separating the opposing forces.
He mentioned many times how well they were treated during their visit.
“There were more Canadian flags on residents (homes), on streets, thanking Canadians for what we had done,” he recalled. “There were more flags there than what you would see in a whole year if you drove around Canada.”
After all was said and done, and it was time to go home, he wanted to thank the driver assigned to him on the memorable day. It was the driver’s response that left an indelible mark on Begg.
“He shook my hand and squeezed it like crazy, put his other hand on it and squeezed it, and he said, ‘No. Thank you.’”
