Archive for January, 2005

Between 1646 and 1948, some 300 duelling incidents were recorded in what is now Canadian territory. These ranged from challenges delivered (but not accepted) through to formal combats, many bloodless but approximately 30 with fatal outcomes. The two professions most frequently represented among duellists were military officers and lawyers.

Duels should not be confused with medieval “trial by combat” which was part of a crude legal system and conducted in the presence of judges—even […]

By February 1916 the situation confronting the British Empire and France was incredibly bleak. The failure of the 1915 offensives on the Western Front and the crushing defeat of the Russian armies in the east were paralleled by German victories in the Balkans, the failure of the Gallipoli expedition, the defeat of British forces in Iraq and the bloody stalemate in the war between Italy […]

The attack on Allied merchant shipping off New England in October 1916 by U-53 changed Canada’s naval requirements overnight, and laid the groundwork for the development of the navy for the balance of the 20th century. Suddenly Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Kingsmill’s motley little fleet, the St. Lawrence Patrol, looked like the work of a genius.

Within days, the Admiralty reversed its opposition to the development […]

At the outbreak of World War II, the Royal Canadian Air Force had 4,061 personnel, including 512 pilots. Overseas, Royal Air Force ranks included roughly 900 Canadians who had previously joined that force; approximately 700 of them were pilots or pilot/navigators. The Canadians who enrolled directly in the RAF became known as CAN/RAF personnel, and they have a curious and complex history.

Defining them is difficult […]

Hundreds of people lined the narrow streets of the Dutch village of Ede-Veenendaal near Arnhem last fall as a parade of World War II-era military vehicles made its way to the village market for an afternoon exhibit. “Isn’t it great to know people will line up just to see a bunch of old jeeps,” said jeep owner Kuuk Criep.

Criep is the former chairman of the Keep Them Rolling Association, a group of military vehicle enthusiasts who repair, restore and display their prized […]

Belgian children sit nervously waiting for the end of the three-hour ceremony at Adegem Canadian War Cemetery. Their part in the placing of flowers has already been performed. But as the ceremony ends, a plane flies overhead and suddenly the air is filled with hundreds of poppies fluttering to the ground and the children are let go to run all over the cemetery trying to catch the little red emblems.

It is a joyous end to what has been a solemn few weeks as Canadian […]

“I have a sad story to tell you. If tears start to come, forgive me.” Former lance-corporal Maurice White, 79, of Edmonton, is talking with several Canadian teenagers and fellow World War II veteran Ed Page of Calgary in the lobby of a Sicilian hotel. It is the last day of an 11-day Veterans Affairs Canada pilgrimage to Italy (Oct. 25 to Nov. 4) and he is remembering the hellish Battle of Ortona, a milestone in the Canadians’ 20-month-long Italian Campaign. “On […]

It is Remembrance Day in Kirkland Lake, Ont., and the only noise you hear is the sound of boots crunching down on the thick layer of snow surrounding the northern Ontario town’s war memorial. It is almost 11. In a few moments, a siren—from a nearby fire truck—will signal the start of two minutes of silence. When the signal comes, more than 500 people bow their heads and remain that way until the siren sounds again, 120 seconds later.

“We’ve been using the […]

The howitzer thunders and the sonic crack ripples off the glass buildings and then reverberates through the heart of Ottawa, a fierce signal for the crowds surrounding the National War Memorial to begin their silent vigil.

Some veterans stand, some hold a rigid salute and others sit with blankets over their laps or around their shoulders, but all of them—row upon row in every direction—appear united during these few solemn minutes at the 2004 national Remembrance Day ceremony.

Another emphatic boom from the gun punches an end […]

The Department of National Defence and the Canadian military have announced that the compulsory retirement age, or CRA, for all new regular force and primary reserve members has been increased by five years to age 60.

A statement from National Defence says any personnel who were serving on June 30 this year will be able to choose to change to CRA 60 or retain their current mandatory retirement age of 55. The retirement age for other sub-components of the reserve force—Cadet Instructors Cadre, Canadian Rangers and supplementary reserve—will remain […]