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Living History Groups Honour WW2

History buffs with a passion for the Second World War take it to the limit – dressing in vintage uniforms, sleeping in tents, eating rations, and even re-enacting entire battles! Their primary purpose is to teach the public about a war that is rapidly fading from living memory.

“Re-enactment” is the term for a craze that has spread across the Western world. History fans can now re-enact battles involving Vikings, Romans, and even the Wild West.

But interest in both the First and Second World Wars continues to grow. Here in Western Canada, I discovered two “living history” groups – one in Edmonton, and one in Victoria.

Some members are armed forces veterans themselves, and others have relatives who fought in the Second World War. But everyone agrees on one point: it’s important to preserve these memories and pass them along to the younger generation.

 

The Victoria-Esquimalt Military Reenactors Association, Victoria, B.C.

Don Thomas is the Event Coordinator for the Victoria-Esquimalt Military Reenactors Association, with members in both Victoria and Vancouver. Although the group’s wide-ranging mandate covers the entire period from 1776 to 1960, Don says the Second World War is the more prominent era. Here is Don Thomas dressed as a first aid attendant.

Now 64, Don grew up in Brockway, New Brunswick where his story-telling grandmother first sparked his love of history. At the age of seventeen, he joined the Canadian Army and served for 27 years.

“When I was posted in Ontario, I got interested in the War of 1812 Re-enactment down there,” he said. He’s been involved with living history for several decades. Since 2009 he’s been an active member of the Victoria group, which he says is very family-oriented, with men and women of all ages participating.

All photos of the Victoria group shown here were taken by group member Tony Austin. The photo at the top of the page is an employee of the Fort Rodd National Historic Site in Victoria wearing an authentic Canadian Women’s Army Corps uniform.

At every appearance, the group draws a crowd. “The reaction is very good. Of course, visitors who come to military museums are already interested. Of one hundred people who go through, probably seventy-five come to see us.”

Visitors often bring in uniforms or other artifacts to show the group. “Many of our parents and grandparents fought in one or both world wars, so people feel they have a personal connection.”

The Victoria group doesn’t focus on a particular segment of the armed forces – instead, it wants to educate people about all wartime roles, some of them less known than others, including the home front as well. That allows wide participation by both men and women of all ages.

Here Tony Austin, the group’s excellent official photographer who took all the photographs here, portrays the Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy.

Group member Gary Kangas is dressed here as an Air Raid Warden, a vitally important role on the home front.

Don himself owns a number of different uniforms. “There are always lots of guys who like the boots-and-bayonets, but I like to show other aspects of military service,” he said.

“Last year I concentrated on the Merchant Navy (the ships that transported vital goods and supplies across the Atlantic) by dressing as a sick berth attendant on one of the rescue ships that sailed with the convoys.”

Here is Don Thomas on the left, wearing a Royal Canadian Air Force uniform, along with Connor Thomas, Jonathan Wolter, and Bryce Smith. Patricia Bay, now the Victoria International Airport, was a huge operational training air base in the Second World War.

Here Bob Campbell portrays a Captain in the Canadian Army.

In the re-enactment world, there are differing degrees of authenticity. Groups like this one, with a strong focus on history, education and commemoration, do their best to get the details right.

“We don’t expect anyone to show up 100 percent turned out the first time,” Don explained. “We realize that it takes time, money and effort to develop a historic persona. So everyone in the group is willing to work with new members, by lending them kit and giving them advice.”

He said the realistic look is easier to achieve now that there are companies in the United States and Great Britain manufacturing twentieth-century replicas – although they don’t make Canadian uniforms.

If you’re a woman, it’s even harder. Most women reenactors wear vintage civilian clothing. For example, this photo shows group member Martina Diklitch portraying a member of the Canadian Red Cross, waiting for casualties.

Here Sarah Diklitch is dressed as a member of the American Women’s Air Force Service Pilots, otherwise known as WASPs. These women called ferry pilots delivered all types of aircraft between air bases at home and overseas, although they were never allowed to fly in combat.

In Great Britain, the Auxiliary Transport Association, or ATA, had several Canadian women pilots. You can read about one remarkable woman on a previous blog post by clicking: Violet Milstead.

Inspiration for wartime roles comes from many sources, including original photographs taken during the war. Here Sarah Diklitch dresses as the American girl known as “Winnie the Welder,” one of the hundreds of thousands of women who built vehicles and weapons of war.

This is the original wartime photograph of Winnie the Welder.

The Victoria group’s main focus is to support local museums, and there are several excellent ones in the area. There’s the Naval and Military Museum at nearby Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, of which Don’s wife Debbie Towell serves as curator. There’s the British Columbia Aviation Museum in Sidney, and the National Historic Site at Ford Rodd Hill, plus another at Fort Macauley in Esquimalt.

To join the group, or request more information, please call Don Thomas at (250) 642-2977 or email engineerjumper@shaw.ca.

 

First Special Service Force Living History Association, Edmonton, Alberta

This group was co-founded by history enthusiast Brian Mason, a 34-year-old American with an archaeology degree who now works for the Edmonton City Police. Brian moved to Edmonton from North Carolina, where he was involved with American Civil War re-enactment.

After arriving here, he joined the Rotary Club, where he became friends with an older man, Rob Patterson-Bruton of St. Albert. “Over coffee we got talking about the lack of historical education in our schools today,” Brian said, referring to public school systems in both Canada and the U.S.

“Kids today learn about war through two venues: Hollywood, and video games. They think war is accurately portrayed through movies like Call of Duty, or Saving Private Ryan. It’s a travesty, really. They’re not learning anything of substance!”

So the two men decided to do something about it. They agreed that the two world wars are the ones most familiar to most Canadians, and they chose World War Two because of easier access to uniforms and gear, plus the firsthand knowledge of living veterans.

To pay tribute to both of their countries of origin, they chose to represent the First Special Service Force, otherwise known as “The Devil’s Brigade.” This was an elite commando unit composed of Canadian and American volunteers who undertook some very dangerous missions. To read more about this 1,800-man force, click here: The Devil’s Brigade.

“Their actions are an important but obscure part of our mutual history, and we wanted to bring it into the public awareness,” Brian said.

The group does not adopt the identities of individual soldiers, but rather the general spirit of the brigade as it existed in 1943. Brian is proud of the fact that First Special Service Force veterans have thanked him and shaken his hand. “The response from veterans in general has been astronomical,” he said.

Here Reid Fisher is dressed as a member of the American Airborne, beside a U.S. tent setup. The photo was taken in Sherwood Park, Alberta, on Canada Day 2015, at the group’s largest annual event.

This photo shows some of the masses of equipment that group members have accumulated. Sourcing and purchasing authentic gear is one of the challenges  facing every living history group.

Not everyone needs to play a combat soldier. Here Martin Truscott portrays an Allied War Correspondent, one of those brave souls who risked their lives to bring photographs and news accounts to the folks back home.

One of the challenges for all living history wartime groups is how to incorporate women.

Renee Chapelle of Edmonton, aged 38, fell into living history by chance. She works for a stage and theatre lighting company. One day her friend took her to a gun show, and she found herself fascinated by a display set up by the First Special Service Force Living History group.

She had no prior interest in the Second World War, but she became so intrigued that four years later, she is the group’s Secretary/Event Organizer, and the only female member. Group leader Brian Mason calls her “the brains behind the whole outfit.”

In Canada it is very difficult to find authentic women’s uniforms, since the number of women who served was much lower. As with other re-enactment groups, Renee gets around this by dressing as a wartime civilian, sewing her own clothing and collecting vintage hats.

“One of the ways women participated back then was through the role as military nurses, and I would love to find a nursing uniform.”

This photo shows Renee in her favourite dress, and one of her three favourite wartime hats.

There wouldn’t be much point in having a battle re-enactment without an enemy, but one of the problems that the group experiences is the public reaction to seeing a German uniform.

“People see a swastika and they come right out and call us nasty names,” Renee said. “Often the public doesn’t know the difference between an average German soldier who was just doing his duty, and a full-fledged Nazi. But even the regular soldiers had to display a swastika as part of their uniforms. We can usually deflect the criticism by explaining the difference, and telling them what we are doing.”

This photo shows four group members dressed as German Wehrmacht soldiers doing what all soldiers did much of the time — just hanging around, playing cards. From left to right, they are Matt Holland, Riley Smith, Derek Campbell, and the fourth man is unidentified.

The group also participates in some important commemorative events. Here Claude Villeneuve and Brian Mason stand on guard in front of the cenotaph dedicated to the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, located near Canmore, Alberta, during the celebration of D-Day on June 6, 2014.

Group leader Brian Mason said he would love to have more women members, as well as people of all ages. For more information, please call him at 780-242-2788, or email him at briankmason@hotmail.com.

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STAR WEEKLY AT WAR

The Star Weekly was a Canadian newsmagazine published by the Toronto Star. During the Second World War, a colour illustration with a wartime theme appeared on the cover each week. As a reminder of the important role played by naval rescuers, as mentioned above by Don Thomas of the Living History group in Victoria, here’s an image of some desperate men on a life raft, dated November 1, 1941. To see my collection of Star Weekly covers, click: Star Weekly At War.

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