D-Day 1944 Commemorated
Jun 6, 2013 Blog The Memory Project/Le Projet Mémoire
  • At 3 a.m. on June 6, 1944, in advance of his unit’s participation in the Normandy landings, Paul Martin received a package containing twenty 5-Francs notes. These notes were accepted by French merchants. Paul Martin.
  • Bill Halcro (far left) is seen here advancing off of Juno Beach on D-Day, 1944. Bill Halcro.
  • Troops from The North Nova Scotia Highlanders getting fresh air on the deck of their LCI (Landing Craft, Infantry), along with their ramp gear and collapsible bicycles in June 1944. Richard Norris
  • Postcard depicting Juno Beach at 18:30 hours on June 6, 1944. Fred Lackey.
  • A pair of photographs showing HMS Swift sinking after striking a mine off the shore of Normandy, France shortly after D-Day. Forbes Brown.
  • John H. Hamilton standing in front of The Royal Winnipeg Rifles monument at Courseulles-sur-Mer, France during ceremonies marking the 35th Anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 1979. John Hamilton.
At 3 a.m. on June 6, 1944, in advance of his unit’s participation in the Normandy landings, Paul Martin received a package containing twenty 5-Francs notes. These notes were accepted by French merchants. Paul Martin.
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69 years ago, on June 6, 1944 Canadians, alongside their fellow Allied soldiers, sailors, and airmen, participated in D-Day, the invasion of Normandy, France and the first step towards the liberation of continental Europe in the Second World War.

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Letters From The War Dead
Jun 3, 2013 Blog Drew Boyd
  • A letter written by Private Ian Raeburn to his wife Carol.
  • A letter from Private Ian Raeburn dated April 2nd, 1953. Private Raeburn was killed during the Battle of Hill 187 on May 3rd, 1953, a month and a day after this letter was written.
  • Platoon Commander Lieutenant Goodwin (right) and a soldier of 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment at Private Raeburn's grave in Korea.
  • A soldier of 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment by Private Ian Raeburn's grave.
A letter written by Private Ian Raeburn to his wife Carol.
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Recently, a relative of Private Ian Raeburn submitted some artefacts relating to his service in the Korean War. The first image is a letter sent to his wife, the second is a letter written to family on April 2nd, 1953. The final two images are of Ian Raeburn’s comrades at his grave in Korea. The Royal Canadian Regiment soldier was killed on May 3rd, 1953 during the Battle of Hill 187, one month and a day after writing the second letter. He was 19 years old.

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Hubert Brooks - Online Biography
May 27, 2013 Blog The Memory Project/Le Projet Mémoire
The Life and Times of Hubert Brooks M.C. C.D. A Canadian Hero
Wing Commander Hubert Brooks, RCAF. Courtesy of http://www.hubertbrooks.com/

The Memory Project loves to share information about Canada's veterans, past and present. Thanks to one of our supporters, we were alerted to the online biography of Wing Commander Hubert Brooks, MC, CD whose Second World War experiences included escaping from a prisoner of war camp and fighting with the Polish underground.

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Thanking Veterans Goes On
May 22, 2013 Blog Alex Herd
One of the many letters schoolchildren write to our veterans, expressing their gratitude for their service and sacrifice.

Through our Thank a Veteran Letter Campaign, the Memory Project encourages Canadian students of all ages to say thank you by writing a letter to one of Canada’s veterans featured in the Memory Project Archive.

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Victory in Europe!
May 8, 2013 Blog The Memory Project/Le Projet Mémoire
  • Photo taken on V-E Day in New York Harbor. Robert Pickering.
  • Members of "O" Section, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division posing with a large bottle of champagne on V-E Day. Oldenburg, Germany, 8 May 1945. A. Merfyn David.
  • Dinner at the Quai d'Orsay, Paris, France, for the end of the war, 1945. Jean-Paul Bertrand.
  • Hubert Lalonde and a friend in Germany in 1945, having just left the mess hall on the left with their tin cups in hand. Hubert Lalonde.
  • May 8, 1945, V-E Day. Hugh Beaty and his unit found a 45 lb barrel of sauerkraut - here, he is eating a bowl of it. Hugh Beaty.
  • McAloney Bridge: Mr. Raymond Williams (right) and his company were building a bridge in Germany on V-E Day and named the bridge after a fallen comrade. Raymond Williams.
Photo taken on V-E Day in New York Harbor. Robert Pickering.
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On May 8, 1945 German forces surrendered in Europe, ending the Second World War in that theatre.

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Pro Patria - The Battle of Hill 187 - 60 Years On
May 3, 2013 Blog Andrea Quaiattini
  • Ralph Verge
  • Keith Carson
  • Norman McGugan
  • James Gunn
  • Robert Stewart
  • Charles Owen
  • A Vancouver Sun photo of Gordon Owen on his return to Canada, 1953. Pictured with him is his wife, two children, and mother.
  • Photo of Gordon Owen and his wife and son upon his return to Canada, 1953.
  • Reg Redknap (left) and Ed Hollyer (right) at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
  • Herb Pitts
  • Bernard Charland
Ralph Verge
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2-3 May mark the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Hill 187, the Canadian Army’s last major battle of the Korean War. Over the course of the night of 2-3 May 1953, “A” and “C” Companies of 3rd Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment (3 RCR) endured constant enemy shellfire and wave after wave of enemy troop assaults on their positions.

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Communities in Dialogue: A human library in Winnipeg
May 3, 2013 Blog Maddy Macnab
  • Major Karl-Hans Désilets transported students around the globe with stories of his many flying missions as an RCAF pilot.
  • Passages to Canada speaker Carol James describes her traditional finger-weaving techniques to Vincent Massey students.
  • Students engaged in a lively conversation with Passages to Canada speaker Lacina Dembélé.
  • Our bilingual MC, Passages to Canada coordinator Calina Ellwand.
  • Memory Project staff member Maddy Macnab with Frank Rowan, an RCAF veteran who was taken prisoner of war during the Second World War.
  • Memory Project speaker LCol Jamie Speiser-Blanchet is helicopter pilot who has served in Haiti and Bosnia, among other places.
  • Students in dialogue with Passages speaker Janelle Wookey,a Franco-Métis producer, writer, director, and on-air personality in Winnipeg.
  • Two Memory Project speakers, one a veteran of the RCAF and one a currently-serving pilot, exchange anecdotes.
  • Frank Rowan shares photos from his time as a prisoner of war with a student.
  • Memory Project speakers LCol Jamie Speiser-Blanchet, Frank Rowan, and Major Karl Désilets, with students from Vincent Massey Collegiate.
  • At our evening event, Memory Project speaker and Anishinaabe veteran Melvin Swan shared his story of discrimination in the Canadian Forces.
  • Participants in our evening human library share a laugh with Passages speaker Segun Olude.
  • Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Passages to Canada speaker Segun Olude is a graphic designer in Winnipeg and a dedicated community builder.
  • Memory Project speaker LCol Luc Sabourin is an aerospace engineer on the cutting edge of aircraft structural design.
  • Passages speaker Beatrice Watson brought along a few items from her native Guyana to enhance her presentation.
  • Folk musician, artist, and Passages speaker Gérald Laroche shows off his "mouth bow", an instrument he built himself.
  • Memory Project speaker John Gillis told stories of his military service in Korea, Egypt, Cyprus, and beyond, and of his civilian career as a broadcaster and commentator on radio and TV.
  • Betty Dimock, Memory Project speaker and local artist, shares a laugh with a fellow human library participant
  • Memory Project speaker Dorothy Butler served as a WREN with the Royal Canadian Navy in the 1950s. Here she recounts her recent pilgrimage to the battlefields of Europe.
Major Karl-Hans Désilets transported students around the globe with stories of his many flying missions as an RCAF pilot.
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“It’s going to be winter,” my colleague Brandy, a native Winnipegger, cautioned. We heard this admonition again and again as we made preparations for our Winnipeg event. “We’re snowed in,” one of our speakers told me. “It’s minus 19!” lamented another. Suitably warned, we arrived on March 20th, along with our colleagues from our sister speakers bureau, Passages to Canada, bundled up like arctic explorers. The verdict? Sure, Winnipeg was pretty cold; but everywhere we went, the warm reception we received more than made up for it.

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Black May and the Battle of the Atlantic
May 2, 2013 Blog Alex Herd
Updated Focus On the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War! Click here
Rear-Admiral Leonard Warren Murray, CB, CBE, RCN. Courtesy Department of National Defence.

May 2013 marks the 70th anniversary of “Black May” – May 1943, the turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic, when German U-boats suffered their greatest losses against Allied naval forces in the Second World War. Allied technical and tactical developments – including the ability of aircraft to ensure full protection of convoys across the ocean – also resulted in a significant decline in Allied shipping losses.

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Feature of the Week: The Battle of Kap'yong
Apr 23, 2013 Blog Alex Herd
Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry cross a log bridge in Korea in February 1951. John McCall is the soldier sixth from the front of the column. John McCall.

22-25 April marks the anniversary of the Battle of Kap'yong in 1951, when 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, along with Australian, British, and New Zealand troops, stopped an enemy offensive in the hills of Korea.

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Artefact of the Week
Apr 22, 2013 Blog The Memory Project/Le Projet Mémoire

CBC's Normand Eaves (standing) and Norman McBain (kneeling) interview Lieutenant-Colonel Jacques Dextraze, commanding officer, 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment in Korea.

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