History Commons^™

“A Very Fine Plan In The Memory Of Our Boys:” Commemorating The Owen Sound Collegiate And Vocational Institute Second World War Dead, David Ross Alexander

Canadian Military History

The memorial plaques dedicated to the First and Second World War dead of many of Canada’s secondary schools including the Owen Sound Collegiate and Vocational Institute may have borne close resemblance but the experience of those whose names appeared on the walls was very different. The adolescent experience of students who attended these schools during the interwar years contrasted with that of their mothers and fathers. They enlisted, fought and died in a much more technologically advanced and globalised war than the previous generation. They were shaping their own distinct identity in youth and war and how would the collective …

Hidden In Plain Sight: The Militia And Defence Headquarters Personnel File Series, 1903 To 1938, Paul Marsden, Glenn Wright

Canadian Military History

In the late 1940s, the Department of National Defence enthusiastically embraced microfilming technology, undertaking a massive project to microfilm several million files covering the period 1885 to 1948. This article describes the authors’ research to trace one particular microfilm job covering Military Personnel Files managed by the Department of Militia and Defence. The authors have unearthed a large cache of unexplored records, comprising tens of thousands of military personnel files, the majority of which deal with military service during the Great War.

The Lives And Afterlives Of Material Culture: New First World War Artifacts At The Canadian War Museum, Laura Brown, Tim Cook

Canadian Military History

This article presents a selection of First World War artifacts that have been acquired by the Canadian War Museum since its opening in 2005. Each object is infused with multiple stories. Some were treasured mementos handed down through families, while others were nearly forgotten over time. Once at the museum, they acquired new narratives as these objects, artifacts and material culture are integrated into exhibitions, educational and digital products or accessed by researchers. The artifacts tell stories, contribute to our understanding of the diversity of Canadian experiences during the war and demonstrate the central role of the artifact in the …

Review Of "Duty To Dissent: Henri Bourassa And The First World War" By Geoff Keelan, Andrew Theobald

Canadian Military History

Review of Duty to Dissent: Henri Bourassa and the First World War by Geoff Keelan

Review Of "Pulp Empire: The Secret History Of Comic Book Imperialism" By Paul S. Hirsch, Mark Klobas

Canadian Military History

Review of Pulp Empire: The Secret History of Comic Book Imperialism by Paul S. Hirsch.

Review Of "Jackson’S Wars: A. Y. Jackson, The Birth Of The Group Of Seven, And The Great War" By Douglas Hunter, Tim Cook

Canadian Military History

Review of Jackson’s Wars: A. Y. Jackson, the Birth of the Group of Seven, and the Great War by Douglas Hunter

Review Of "Monty And The Canadian Army" By John A. English, David Borys

Canadian Military History

Review of Monty and the Canadian Army by John A. English.

Review Of "It Can’T Last Forever: The 19th Battalion And The Canadian Corps In The First World War" By David Campbell, Peter L. Belmonte

Canadian Military History

Review of It Can’t Last Forever: The 19th Battalion and the Canadian Corps in the First World War by David Campbell.

Review Of "A Navy Admiral’S Bronze Rules: Managing Risk And Leadership" By Dave Oliver, Ellen A. Ahlness

Canadian Military History

Review of A Navy Admiral’s Bronze Rules: Managing Risk and Leadership by Dave Oliver.

Failure To Launch: Canadian Federal Government Attempts At Memorialising The Second World War, 1945-1967, Thomas M. Littlewood

Canadian Military History

Between the end of the Second World War and the mid-1960s, the Canadian federal government made several attempts to commemorate and memorialise those who died during the war. Despite strong government support and advocacy from the Royal Canadian Legion, the Canadian population did not believe that building a new memorial was a wise expenditure of taxpayer money. This article uses newspaper records, The Legionary and government documents to examine how successive federal governments tried and failed to commemorate and memorialise the Second World War with a national war memorial. This article also problematises the current understanding of how the Second …

Doctrine, Training And Education In The Development Of Canadian Brigadiers: A Study Of Brigadiers Robert Moncel And James Jefferson, Nicholas Wheeler

Canadian Military History

This paper argues that Anglo-Canadian doctrine had a greater influence on how Brigadiers Robert Moncel and James Jefferson commanded their brigades than the experience they gained along two different career paths. The rapid expansion of the Canadian Army during the Second World War prevented Canadian infantry and armoured brigade commanders from gaining experience in both staff and command billets. As junior or senior officers, future brigade commanders normally attended either a condensed version of Staff College or Senior Officers’ School. Here they developed two distinct skill sets before they assumed command of brigades. Despite the differing purposes of these course, …

Z Force On The Ground: The Canadian Deployment To Iceland, 1940-41, Steven J. Bright

Canadian Military History

The date of 10 May 1940 is well known for the start of the German blitzkrieg and the end of Neville Chamberlain’s tenure as British Prime Minister. That fateful day also opened a chapter in Canada’s war story that, in the end, saw more than 2,600 Canadian servicemen deployed to far-away but strategic Iceland. The Canadian commitment to that remote island from June 1940 to April 1941 was a metaphoric stepping-stone in the long Allied struggle against the Axis powers in the North Atlantic, building what ultimately became a secure strategic bridge for the deployment of the forces that liberated …

“Resigned To My Sad Fate:” Arthur Nantel And The Prisoner Of War Experience, Tim Cook, Mélanie Morin-Pelletier

Canadian Military History

In September 1914, forty-one-year-old artist Arthur Nantel, from Montreal, Quebec, enlisted as a private in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Travelling overseas with the First Contingent, his trial by fire came during the Second Battle of Ypres, in April 1915. Captured during the battle, Private Nantel spent the rest of the war as a prisoner in Germany. During his captivity, Nantel left a unique visual legacy of his experiences. Based on several documents written by Nantel in 1919 and on thirty-one of his works of art held at the Canadian War Museum, this article explores his war service and works of …

“Long And Strenuous Duties In France:” Neurasthenia And Nervous Debility Among Canadian Nursing Sisters During The First World War, Ariane Gauthier

Canadian Military History

This article endeavours to understand the strenuous circumstances which caused neurasthenia and nervous debility in Canadian nursing sisters during the First World War. By examining the treatment they received for their condition at the Canadian Red Cross X Special Hospital and at Northwood Hospital for Sick Sisters in Buxton, this article also explores how Canadian medical authorities handled the nurses’ treatment and momentarily challenged previous conceptions concerning mental illness in women.

Review Of "Fighting With The Empire: Canada, Britain And Global Conflict, 1867-1947" Edited By Steve Marti And William John Pratt, Katelyn Stieva

Canadian Military History

Review of Fighting with the Empire: Canada, Britain and Global Conflict, 1867-1947 edited by Steve Marti and William John Pratt

Review Of "The Fight For History: 75 Years Of Forgetting, Remembering, And Remaking Canada’S Second World War" By Tim Cook, Roger Sarty

Canadian Military History

Review of The Fight For History: 75 Years of Forgetting, Remembering, and Remaking Canada’s Second World War by Tim Cook

Review Of "The True Face Of Sir Isaac Brock" By Guy St-Denis, Craig Leslie Mantle

Canadian Military History

Review of The True Face of Sir Isaac Brock by Guy St-Denis

Review Of "Remembered In Bronze And Stone: Canada’S Great War Memorial Statuary" By Alan Livingston Macleod, Sarah L. Hart

Canadian Military History

Review of Remembered in Bronze and Stone: Canada’s Great War Memorial Statuary by Alan Livingston MacLeod

Review Of "Admiral Gorshkov: The Man Who Challenged The U.S. Navy" By Norman Polmar, Thomas A. Brooks And George E. Federoff, Arthur W. Gullachsen

Canadian Military History

Review of Admiral Gorshkov: The Man Who Challenged the U.S. Navy by Norman Polmar, Thomas A. Brooks and George E. Federoff

Review Of "The Third Man: Churchill, Roosevelt, Mackenzie King And The Untold Friendships That Won Wwii" By Neville Thompson, Tim Cook

Canadian Military History

Review of The Third Man: Churchill, Roosevelt, Mackenzie King and the Untold Friendships that Won WWII by Neville Thompson

Review Of "Surviving The Great War: Australian Prisoners Of War On The Western Front, 1916-18" By Aaron Pegram, Tim Cook

Canadian Military History

Review of Surviving the Great War: Australian Prisoners of War on the Western Front, 1916-18 by Aaron Pegram

Review Of "For Home And Empire: Voluntary Mobilization In Australia, Canada, And New Zealand During The First World War" By Steve Marti, Jordan Beavis

Canadian Military History

Review of For Home and Empire: Voluntary Mobilization in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand during the First World War by Steve Marti

Review Of "Anxious Days And Tearful Nights: Canadian War Wives During The Great War" By Martha Hannah, Kristine Alexander

Canadian Military History

Review of Anxious Days and Tearful Nights: Canadian War Wives during the Great War by Martha Hannah

“Condemned To Be Free:” The Dilemmas Of Canadian Civilians In Japanese-Occupied Hong Kong, Brian Edgar

Canadian Military History

Enemy occupation after military defeat is generally seen as a situation in which the defeated are deprived of choices. This is obviously correct, but it is also true that they are sometimes faced with dilemmas harsher and more significant than those of peacetime. The study of the experience of Canadian civilians during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong casts light on some of these dilemmas. This article begins with an account of the Hong Kong Canadians on the eve of war, showing them to consist of two distinct but linked communities—the Chinese and the European. It goes on to describe …

A Halifax: The Story Of Mz 899, David J. Bercuson

Canadian Military History

We know a great deal about the Royal Air Force’s (RAF)’s bomber offensive. There is also an extensive library of autobiographies, memoirs and other primary sources telling the personal stories of a great many aircrew, some famous—such as Guy Gibson who led the Dam Busters Raid of 1943—and others not so famous—such as Howard Hewer’s In For a Penny, In for a Pound, the story of a young man who flew in Nos. 148 and 218 Squadrons of the RAF. But few of those works have focused on the aircrew of individual aircraft because of the dearth of primary source …

Brigadier J. K. Lawson’S Diary: October To December 1941, Tyler Wentzell

Canadian Military History

This article contextualises and reproduces the diary kept by Brigadier J. K. Lawson during his command of C Force at the Battle of Hong Kong. The diary covers events from Lawson’s departure from Ottawa by rail on 23 October 1941 until his death in battle on 19 December. Allied soldiers hid Lawson’s diary and other effects from Japanese guards during four long years of imprisonment and had them delivered to his widow after the war.

The Victors, Not The Vanquished: A Conversation With Hong Kong Veteran George Macdonell, Brad St.Croix

Canadian Military History

This article centres around a conversation the author had with Battle of Hong Kong veteran George MacDonell. Several questions were asked to gain insights about events related to the battle as MacDonell saw it and the years the Canadian prisoners of war spent in brutal Japanese captivity. MacDonell was also asked about his opinions on a variety of subjects. Ultimately, one of his greatest concerns is that the exploits of him and his comrades would be forgotten. This article is designed to bring attention to such a worry so that work can be done to ensure this does not happen.

From The Vaults: Objects Relating To The Canadian Experience In Hong Kong, Stacey Barker, Jeff Noakes

Canadian Military History

This article focuses on the material culture of Canadians’ experiences during and after the Battle of Hong Kong. Stories of combat, captivity, and the return home are told through this selection of personal objects now preserved in the collections of the Canadian War Museum. These artifacts highlight the particular circumstances and harsh conditions faced by prisoners of war and civilian detainees, and serve as entry points into the wider history of the battle, its aftermath and its lasting consequences.

Cet article porte sur la culture matérielle des expériences des Canadiens et Canadiennes pendant et après la bataille de Hong Kong. …

Fun Behind The Wire?: Francis “Huck” O’Neill And The Canadian Pow Experience In Hong Kong, 1941-1945, Michael B. Pass

Canadian Military History

Many prior studies of Canadian POWs during the Pacific War have focused on the sadism and mistreatment of their Japanese jailors, helping to make this a dominant image of the conflict. This article moderates this view by discrediting the notion that Japanese soldiers were motivated by an omnipresent belief in “bushido,” as well as by studying newly discovered documents produced in captivity by Canadian Auxiliary Services Officer Francis O’Neill. It argues that Japanese conduct towards POWs was more variable than previously recognised and highlights moments of levity and fun as O’Neill and his fellow prisoners organised sporting events, games and …

The Battle Of Hong Kong, Forgotten And Remembered: C Force, Cultural Memory And Commemoration, Alexandra Mckinnon

Canadian Military History

This article considers how veterans of C Force and their families have shaped Canadian cultural memory of the Battle of Hong Kong and their engagement with memorial and material landscapes. In considering bottom-up processes of commemoration, this article suggests that the “forgotten battle” of Canadian service in the Second World War has not been forgotten after all. Instead, Canadian cultural memory of the battle reflects the enduring impact of individual experience in shaping national narratives.