Thousands of lumberjacks, members of the Canadian Forestry Corps, logged the forests of Scotland during the Second World War to produce desperately needed lumber for the war effort. Among them were Carl and Jack Jones, two brothers from Invermere, British Columbia. Canadian Forestry Corps In a world filled with manmade materials, it is easy to […]
A treasure trove of photographs has fallen into my hands, showing RCAF women, members of the Royal Canadian Air Force Women’s Division, performing their wartime duties. Although women weren’t allowed to fly or to engage in combat, they filled many other valuable roles. “WE SERVE THAT MEN MAY FLY” was the motto of the Women’s […]
Former naval pilot Ted Davis of Toronto never forgot the night of March 17, 1945, when his minesweeper HMCS Guysborough was torpedoed twice by a German submarine. Tony Davis is a former classmate of mine from the Journalism Program at Carleton University in Ottawa. When I learned that his father Ted Davis was still living at […]
The Christmas season was especially lonely for the homesick men and women serving overseas in wartime, as well as their families on the home front. Here are a few examples of the many thousands of Christmas cards and letters that winged their way between loved ones in both world wars.
Sixty-eight years ago this month, a German submarine torpedoed the SS Caribou, a ferry travelling from Canada to Newfoundland. Within five minutes, the ferry sank to the bottom of the Atlantic. Margaret Brooke valiantly tried to save her friend Agnes Wilkie, who became the only Canadian nursing sister to die from enemy action in World War Two. […]
Eight Indigenous brothers from Battleford, Saskatchewan served in the Canadian Army during World War Two, following in their father’s footsteps. One brother married and fathered a son while stationed in England, but returned to Canada without ever seeing the boy. The marriage ended, and Ben Ballendine died without knowing that both his British son Colin, […]
When Manitoba farm girl Merle Taylor joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, she proved to be such a whiz at Morse Code that she was assigned to instruct the air crews.
RCAF photographer Ruth Owen Whitelegg of Brantford, Ontario, served at an air training base at Centralia, Ontario, during World War Two. Her photo album gives us a fascinating glimpse into wartime history, crammed with snapshots of life on a Canadian air training base. RCAF Photographer Bio Ruth was born on March 12, 1925 to parents […]
Seven decades after German artillery fire blew up one of the Canadian tanks that Stan Stachera was riding in, the folding leather cribbage board he made during his hospital recovery remains his family’s favourite link to his wartime past. (This guest blog was written by my friend Kelsey Verboom, writer and photographer, who recently researched […]
Because my focus is on women in wartime, I’m always delighted to unearth little-known stories about their adventures. Here are four of the best. Women in Wartime MARGARET HERMESTON One of the unusual women in wartime was this petite photographer, who achieved monumental significance by becoming the first female Canadian army photographer. Her name was […]
