There’s a reason why it’s called The Greatest Generation – and Yvonne Valleau Wildman of Kindersley, Saskatchewan, aged 92, is a shining example. She had a hardscrabble childhood, served her country with the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War Two, farmed for six decades, and raised seven children. I was first contacted by Yvonne’s […]
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Wartime Wednesdays brings people together. After my recent post about Jack Dye, the young Halifax bomb aimer who saved his entire crew before losing his own life, another connection was made – Jack’s niece Nancy had an emotional meeting with Doug Morison, the pilot of her uncle’s aircraft on that fateful night. Each had been […]
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Fred Sutherland of Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, is now Canada’s last surviving Dambuster — one of only two left in the world. He’s also a member of my extended family because he was married to my cousin Margaret. I interviewed him about his wartime past. (Note: Fred Sutherland passed away at the age of 95 in January 2019. Rest in […]
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Jack Dye, a brave young Halifax bomb-aimer from Regina, Saskatchewan, saved everyone on his bomber in this terrifying incident that took place on June 3, 1944 — 71 years ago today. Readers often send me stories of their own. This one is from Nancy Cuelenaere of Edmonton, Alberta, who sent me this story about her brave […]
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Author and journalist Tony Cashman is famous for his lifelong contribution to the history of Edmonton, Alberta — but less known for the significant role he played in World War Two, completing a full tour of thirty operations as the navigator in a Halifax bomber. I was delighted to receive a telephone call from noted historian, Tony Cashman […]
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A twin-engine wartime Mitchell bomber called Maid in the Shade flew from Arizona to Alberta last summer, but the highlight of the aviation event was meeting Manuel Sharko, a veteran of Bomber Command who defied the odds to complete 36 operations as a mid-upper gunner in a Halifax. My guest columnist is John Chalmers, a writer who […]
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© Elinor Florence Thanks to a body part donation from another Lancaster called Lady Orchid, one Canadian Lancaster bomber is still flying. And the man indirectly responsible was Lady Orchid’s pilot, Ron Jenkins. His daughter Deb explains the fascinating chain of events. The Canadian Lancaster FM-213 is known as the Mynarski Lancaster, named after a brave […]
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Georgina Harvey was a young woman from a well-known family in Kelowna, British Columbia, when she joined the air force in 1943 and trained as a photographer. Her photo album reveals a fascinating slice of life in uniform. Georgina Harvey was born in Kelowna to the distinguished Harvey family, still a well-known name in that community. The stately brick house where […]
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Today I’m departing from my usual format to bring you a chapter of my newly-released wartime novel, Bird’s Eye View. Briefly, it’s about a farm girl from Saskatchewan who joins the air force in the Second World War, travels to England, and becomes an interpreter of aerial photographs, searching for bomb targets on the continent. […]
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This week marks the 75th anniversary of the declaration of World War Two. At some point during the six long years that followed, probably every Canadian secretly feared the worst. On February 19, 1942, they didn’t have to speculate any longer: a fake Nazi invasion of Winnipeg called IF Day fuelled the nightmare. This chilling […]
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