Archive for May, 2007

Deirdre McIlwraith was 24, a graduate of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., and fluent in French and Spanish when she landed a job as a protocol officer with the Canadian Corporation for the 1967 World Exhibition, the organization that planned, […]

The outbreak of a general European war in September 1939 surprised no one, certainly not Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. The previous years had witnessed a series of mounting crises, and King’s acquiescence in the mobilization […]

Some of the most dramatic adventures of World War II involved evading capture or escaping from enemy detention. Royal Canadian Air Force personnel featured prominently in many of those events, and so this story and the next two will focus on evaders and […]

Most Canadians know very little about the role their country men played in the liberation of Italy, but mention Ortona and many can recall something about the World War II battle for this small Adriatic port. The most powerful visual image is […]

In the interest of adding to the public debate over the Allied strategic bombing campaign of World War II, we present the following viewpoint by David L. Bashow who has received positive reviews for his book No Prouder Place: Canadians and the Bomber […]

More than half a century after the Allies launched their strategic bombing campaign against German industrial, military and civilian targets, the morality and effectiveness of the tactic are still being hotly debated.

Over the past year there has been an additional debate about […]

Ghost towns. The words conjure up visions of abandoned outposts, tumbleweeds, rusted farm equipment, flapping window shutters, and the occasional drifter just passin’ through.

However, ghost towns remain very much a part of the Canadian landscape. Do a little digging in your public library or on […]

For only the second time in Canadian military history, the Star of Military Valour has been awarded to a Canadian Forces soldier. The second highest award in the Canadian inventory was presented to Major William Hilton Fletcher by Governor […]

Ironic as it may seem, the defence establishment of Canada is actually finding itself in a worse position under the government of Stephen Harper than it was under the prime ministership of Paul Martin. And it is mostly the fault of Martin’s predecessor, […]

They’re wooden-hulled and worm-eaten and they’re finally being retired. Quite possibly the oldest fleet in the Canadian Navy, the Yard Auxiliary General (YAGs)–built between 1954 and 1958–have long been the navy’s dedicated training platform, logging hundreds […]