Documentary sheds light on untold tale of B.C. soldier for students in Surrey

“This is the story of the Lost Soldier of the Lost Battalion of the Forgotten Battle of Hill 70.” 

High school social studies students across Surrey and White Rock have a fascinating new resource to explore with the district premiere of Finding Fred Lee, a documentary exploring an untold tale from the First World War.

Created by B.C. filmmaker Jack Gin, Finding Fred Lee delves into the story of Private Frederick Lee, a Kamloops-born Chinese Canadian who enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War, and was later killed in action during the Battle of Hill 70.

While the documentary has been on the film festival circuit for the past few years, this month marks its debut as a teaching tool for students across the Surrey School District, with copies of the film and lesson plans being made available to teachers.

“We found out about the film at a professional development event and I was able to get in touch with Jack,” said Cori Penner, social studies helping teacher for the district. “We talked for long time and he was really open and excited about it being used as a teaching tool in schools.”

The film follows Gin as he works to uncover the story of Lee’s journey into the army, exploring how and why a Chinese man was allowed to sign up during a time of exclusion for minorities and what the soldier’s fate ended up being.

“As a child who grew up here in Canada…we didn’t hear these stories,” says Gin in the documentary. “They were dark times for Chinese boys – they were not allowed to succeed, they were not allowed get jobs and they were not allowed to vote. So how did he (Lee) get to the Western Front?”

According to Penner, the idea to use the film as a teaching tool came from the hope that students would appreciate and understand that even back in times of heightened racism and discrimination, there were people like Lee who were willing to pay the ultimate price to defend the Canada we enjoy today.

“So many of our students don't see themselves in our curriculum,” said Penner. “In social studies in particular, it can be hard for some students to feel connected because everything we’ve traditionally seen about history has been from the perspective of Europeans, but there are stories like this that show all kinds of people played a role in our history.”

As for the topic of the First World War in general, now more than 100 years in the past, Penner said it was refreshing to have a new, first-hand resource to help students re-connect with the past.

“When you have a documentary like this with so much archival work and primary sources, it goes a lot further than reading about something in a textbook,” she explained. “Some students might have a hard time relating to events like World War One, but seeing someone uncover a letter that maybe hasn’t been read in more than half-a-century about people who lived not too far from here brings it a little closer to home.”

As part of the district’s collaboration with Gin, students will also have an opportunity to submit questions about the film, which will be asked during an online Q&A with the filmmaker set for April 11.

To learn more about Private Frederick Lee and Jack Gin’s documentary, go to findingfredlee.com.