The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War has the capacity to capture stories from Second World War veterans in both video and audio. The majority of our interviews are audio-based, mostly because we are trying to capture a very large volume of stories as we travel. It is also simply not financially feasible to focus primarily on film-based interviews. Shooting video requires more equipment, staff and takes longer to set up and tear down. It is also more expensive to output great quality footage. Our audio kits allow for quality, are very travel-friendly and easier to edit. I have had the opportunity to interview veterans via both audio and video. Interestingly, I have noticed that these different media have affected the kinds of stories that I am able to capture. I have worked extensively in film and yet I had not fully considered that the camera has an entirely different affect on one’s willingness and capacity to open up, compared to a simple audio recording. One of the major challenges of our project is that we are trying to capture incredibly intimate and often deeply-seated memories, some of which have not been visited for over sixty years. We are trying to recover these memories in a very short period of time. Often we will only have 15 minutes to pre-interview and 25 minutes to conduct the actual interview. I have noticed from the few video interviews I have conducted that sometimes this challenge is exacerbated by video. The veteran may be self-conscious of how they will appear on camera, or the video team will need to pause and re-frame a shot. In general, I have noticed that the simplicity of audio equipment has enabled the veteran to open up more quickly and thus share more intimate memories with us. While there are inherent challenges, I will continue to document interviews on video as there is great value in being able to physically watch a person tell their story.
Mr. Robert O'Connor As part of The Memory Project, we always encourage veterans to bring memorabilia and photographs from their service. Sometimes, while sitting with a veteran and looking through their photos I see a resemblance to someone I knew growing up and our generation gap finds a bridge. It makes me consider their circumstances and it’s also a gentle reminder that these veterans were once my age. It’s not that you can forget this fact, but the pictures have a way of bringing the point home. Sometimes, during a conversation with a veteran, the young person in the picture makes an appearance. This came up early on for me when I sat down with a Mr. Robert O’Connor in Red Deer, Alberta. Mr O’Connor, it turned out, had been a Mosquito Navigator during the Second World War and had flown many dangerous missions over occupied Europe. Mosquito aircrew were among the elite in Bomber Command. Some flew as Pathfinders on bombing raids, where they would mark the target and then linger over the combat area to guide in the bomber stream. They would fly smaller raids into occupied territory and strafe Luftwaffe aerodromes. They also made low-level flights down Axis shipping lanes to drop mines on what they liked to call ‘gardening’ missions. These were all very dangerous assignments that demanded a lot from the aircrews who took part. When I first sat down with Mr O’Connor, it felt no different than any other interview that I’d had up to that point. Things quickly changed, however, when I asked him about flying in Mosquitoes. He looked up, smirked, and the elite aviator he had once been emerged. With a grin, he recounted the following introduction he received from his Wing Commander: “When you go to your first briefing, you may be a little nervous when you find out what you have to do, and you may feel a little sick. If you look around the briefing room, just look at the old timers, they’ll only look half as sick as you do.” After telling me this he chuckled and began to tell me about missions that would turn elite Airmen green. Whatever leap I might have needed to bridge our age difference became unnecessary and for the next forty minutes, I had the pleasure of sitting with a 19-year-old Mosquito Navigator. A Mosquito, similar to the one Mr. O`Connor would have flown.
Have you ever wondered what it felt for Canadians when the Second World War ended? To celebrate the 65th anniversary of Victory in Europe, The Memory Project partied like it was May 8, 1945—the day that marked the end of the Second World War in Europe. By recreating this inspirational moment in Canadian history, The Memory Project brought history to life for some 250 guests, with a little help from the veterans who shared how they felt on VE-Day 1945. Hundreds of costume-clad students from St. Pius X High School, veterans of the Second World War and special guests Mrs. Laureen Harper and the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, joined The Memory Project for a colourful VE-Day celebration at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa. Local veterans were honoured as a piper from The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa accompanied their arrival into the historic Laurier Room. Students snapped photos of the procession and cheered heartily when the piper played his final note. At the podium, guest speakers Minister Moore and Mrs. Harper both highlighted the importance of preserving veteran stories for posterity through The Memory Project. Perhaps the highlight of the day’s program, Second World War veterans Alex Polowin and René Brunette shared stories of service—and a harmonica performance!—to great applause. Their testimonials, along with a display of period artefacts from The Museum of Applied Military History, helped bring history to life (link to sun article). Following punch and party sandwiches, veterans and students enjoyed a performance by local dance troupe Swing Dynamite and danced to big band tunes by The Jivewires. The Memory Project staff got into the historic spirit too, with period military uniforms and ball gowns fit for the dance floor. The team chatted with veterans, jitter-bugged and awarded costume contest prize winners before stepping back into the present day with new perspective on Canadian history. Welcome to future of our past! For more glimpse of this fantastic celebration, watch a video from The Ottawa Citizen.
Jacques Nadeau, Regiment of Fusiliers Mont-Royal, in England, June 8, 1941. After having worked only three weeks with the Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War, I interviewed Mr. Jacques Nadeau from Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal regiment. He was a POW; captured by the Germans on the beach at Dieppe in 1942. He was a prisoner until the end of the war. After our interview, Mr. Nadeau sent me a copy of his book, Dieppe, ma prison: Récit de guerre de Jacques Nadeau, co-written by Martin Chaput. In the book, Mr. Nadeau talks about the mail he received when he was a prisoner. "Receiving letters helped us maintain our morale", he writes. He corresponded with several people, including his brother and sister. However, it was the correspondence with his sweetheart that changed his life. As written in his book, "It’s during all those months of correspondence that we fell in love." Jacqueline Senay became his wife after the war and they remain married to this day. Jacques Nadeau and Jennifer Givogue On Friday, January 29, 2010, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Nadeau for the first time during one of our digitization events in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec. I had the opportunity to see all of his mementos, including photos of his wife and letters written by her. After countless months of phone conversations with Mr. Nadeau, it was extremely meaningful for me, as a Research and Collections Officer, to finally get to meet him. By meeting him personally, his stories became more intimate and truly came to life.