This well worn programme commemorates a concert held near the front lines just before Christmas 1915. It names 44 officers, NCOs and men from the First Brigade Canadian Mounted Rifles. The brigade […]
In early November I attended the launch of a new website called A City Goes To War. The event, held at the University of Victoria, included announcements on several other […]
A simple Christmas card saved by Private John Denholm of the 16th Battalion Canadian Scottish and pasted into a scrapbook after the war. Denholm joined the 79th The Queen’s Own […]
We’ll never know exactly what the Liddell brothers were thinking when they made their way down Peel Street towards the 148th Battalion recruiting office on January 31, 1916. The rain […]
This wonderful die-cut 1918 Christmas card was sent by one of the 92 officers that made up the 1st Canadian Tank Battalion in 1918. The officer, whose initials were either […]
Christmas was a particularly difficult time for soldiers who were away from home, many for the first time in their lives. While the Christmas Truce of 1914 is well documented […]
Underneath one of these jaunty caps can be found Gunner Clark of the No. 2 Company Mountain Battery Royal Garrison Artillery. While some Mountain Batteries served in India some spent […]
The collection of Canadian War Diaries of the First World War published by Library and Archives Canada is a wonderful resource for researchers. Unit diaries, when used in conjunction with service records, regimental histories […]
2014 marks the centenary of the First World War and over the next four years there will be hundreds if not thousands of events commemorating the occasion. Many will take […]
Not every First World War photo or piece of ephemera can be linked to a specific individual or event but if shared a story may emerge at a later date. […]