Remembering Pte John Fleming, C.A.S.C – Part 2 of 3
When 27-year old husband and father of two John Fleming attested in Winnipeg on December 13, 1915 he brought with him mechanical skills and driving experience that made him a natural […]
Victoria’s Bay Street Armoury Celebrates 100 Years
The Bay Street Armoury has been part of our community for 100 years and on Sunday it celebrated by opening its doors to the public. The event was very well attended […]
Update: Brothers Henry and Benjamin Skelton in 1907
Earlier this month I published a story on Henry and Benjamin Skelton both of whom lost their lives in the final six weeks of the First World War. This weekend […]
Remembering Lt. James Atkinson-Jowett, 6th KOYLI
Reviving forgotten family stories is what I love to do and a pair of dusty old photograph albums has given rise to a fascinating tale that began in Victorian Yorkshire and ended more […]
A Gallery to Remember
On Remembrance Day 2015 I’m commemorating the men and women featured on my website by launching a new Remembrance Gallery. A picture is worth more than a thousand words when it is […]
Remembering Fallen Brothers Henry & Benjamin Skelton
Today I’m remembering two brothers from Woodford in Essex, both of whom lost their lives in the final six weeks of the Great War. The youngest died of wounds 97 years ago […]
A West Coast Cadet: Remembering E. R. Shearman
In hindsight it’s easy to forget that not every soldier who wanted to do his bit in the First World War had the opportunity to do so. In 1914, and in […]
Update: Canadian Massed Regimental Bands
In the summer I wrote about an impressive framed photograph that I found in a local shop. I had presumed the photograph had been taken in Canada but this was […]
Remembering Lt. John Keith Bousfield, Holzminden P.O.W.
Victoria BC has been home to expatriates from across the Empire since it’s earliest days. Despite knowing this I must admit I was nonetheless surprised to discover that an officer, one of 29 […]
Who Goes There? Unknown Trench Poet pens “O Canada!”
On the weekend I acquired a small and curious collection of First World War ephemera that included a handful of poems written by at least two different soldiers. One of these […]
Doing Our Bit 