Today is the first peace-time Armstice Day after another world war. The Second World War, too, saw the peoples of the Empire arise as one man to defend what we hold true and dear. In those dark days that will be known in history as the Battle for Britain when everything we had did notContinue reading ““Lest We Forget” – November 11, 1945″
Category Archives: Prisoner of War
Red Targets: Prisoner of War Uniforms in Canada
For thousands of prisoners transferred to Canada from places like the United Kingdom or North Africa, many arrived with little other than the clothes on their back. These uniforms were often the same that the prisoners had been captured in and were well worn or simply unsuited for Canada’s climate. While combatant prisoners were permittedContinue reading “Red Targets: Prisoner of War Uniforms in Canada”
What Happened to the Survivors of the Bismarck?
Some eighty-four years ago, on May 27, 1941, British battleships and torpedo bombers engaged the Bismarck – Germany’s famed battleship – in its final battle. The ship sustained heavy casualties and crippling damage before the surviving crew scuttled the ship to avoid it falling in British hands. The survivors abandoned ship and the Bismarck soonContinue reading “What Happened to the Survivors of the Bismarck?”
May 8, 1945: VE-Day at Camp 130
In the morning of May 8, 1945, Camp 130 Spokesman Generalleutnant Artur Schmitt, Assistant Spokesman Oberstleutnant Hans J. Brehmer, and their interpreter, Major Werner Gauthier, walked through the main gates and were escorted into the camp office. Here, they entered the office of Camp Commandant Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh de Norban Watson to await the news theyContinue reading “May 8, 1945: VE-Day at Camp 130”
Kananaskis Cartoons: The Art of Otto Ellmaurer – Part II
This is the second post exploring the art of Otto Ellmaurer, a German-Canadian civilian interned in Canada during the Second World War. Missed the first part? Check it out by clicking here. Continuing from last week’s, today’s post looks at more of Otto Ellmaurer’s cartoons, although these ones take a more joking look into internmentContinue reading “Kananaskis Cartoons: The Art of Otto Ellmaurer – Part II”
Kananaskis Cartoons: The Art of Otto Ellmaurer – Part I
When Otto Ellmaurer arrived in Kananaskis, Alberta in July 1940, the forty-one year old was not there to admire the majestic Rocky Mountains. Instead, he was a prisoner of war, a civilian internee detained as a potential threat to national security and he would spend almost five years behind barbed wire. To help pass theContinue reading “Kananaskis Cartoons: The Art of Otto Ellmaurer – Part I”
Duty and Discrimination: Black Canadians in the Veterans Guard
February marks Black History Month in Canada, an opportunity to learn more about the history of Black Canadians. George Alexander Downey was forty-eight years old when he stepped foot in a Halifax-area recruiting office to enlist in the Canadian Army. Like most of the men his age, Downey had served in the First World WarContinue reading “Duty and Discrimination: Black Canadians in the Veterans Guard”
Santa’s Helpers: Christmas at Camp 42
In December 1944, the Camp 42 (Sherbrooke) workshops were in full swing. Three years prior, most of the Civilian Internees and Enemy Merchant Seamen in camp had started working under the auspices of POW Works Programme, an organized effort which employed non-combatant POWs in light-manufacturing in accordance with the 1929 Geneva Convention. At Sherbrooke, thisContinue reading “Santa’s Helpers: Christmas at Camp 42”
A Rare Glimpse Inside: Camp P (Petawawa) on Film
Photographing and filming of prisoners of war in Canada during the Second World War remained subject to strict censorship policies. Authorized civilian and military photographs took countless photographs of prisoners, primarily so they could be used as postcards, yet films relating to internment operations in Canada remained extremely rare. Only a few such films appearContinue reading “A Rare Glimpse Inside: Camp P (Petawawa) on Film”
“Canada’s Oldest Soldier”
When Jim Barber tried to enlist in the Veterans Guard of Canada in May 1940, he was initially turned away. But after the Japanese attack on Pearl Habour, he tried again and this time he succeeded. Recording his age as forty-eight, two years under the age limit for VGC recruits, Barber would spend the nextContinue reading ““Canada’s Oldest Soldier””
POWs in Canada 