Recent Blog Posts
27 Company, Veterans Guard of Canada
Likely taken in the Summer of 1943, this photograph shows No. 27 Company of the Veterans Guard of Canada. The photo was taken in front of Hillcrest Hall, Ross Barracks, while the company was training in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Ross Barracks, formerly Ross School, was converted into a barracks during the Second World War and…
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From Norway to Northern Ontario: One POW’s Journey to Canada
Most of the roughly 40,000 German prisoners of war (POWs) sent to Canada during the Second World War were captured in now well-known campaigns like that in North Africa and Normandy or they were shot down during the Battle of Britain or plucked from the cold Atlantic waters. But some came from lesser-known battles and…
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Christmas in Canada, 1941
As part of their efforts to help POWs interned in Canada, the War Prisoners’ Aid of the YMCA printed and distributed thousands of Christmas cards each year for POWs and internees in the country. Calls for art submissions were issued to internment camps and POW artists submitted sketches, paintings, and linocuts in the chance of…
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“Unknown, Foreign Soldier, WWII POW”
Tucked away among the graves in the cemetery in Indian Head, Saskatchewan is a simple white cross bearing a plaque, “Unknown / Foreign Soldier / WWII POW.” Having learned about the grave from a fellow researcher, I visited the cemetery back in 2015. Since then, I have unsuccessfully tried to identify who may be buried…
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All Bottled Up – Ships in Bottles Revisited
Seven years ago, I posted an article about ships in bottles made by German POWs in Canada. Since then, I’ve added more examples to my collection and thought I would revisit the topic share some of them and to share what I have learned about the manufacture of these unique items. Following their arrival in…
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A Sewing Kit with a Story
This may not be the most exciting of artifacts at first glance but it does have a story. This is a sewing kit, also known as a “housewife,” that was issued to Canadian soldiers during the Second World War. The design had changed little from those issued in the First World War and they included,…
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About Me
Hi, I’m Michael O’Hagan, a historian studying German Prisoners of War in Canada during the Second World War.
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POWs in Canada 