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Sir George Prevost, soldier, administrator, governor-in-chief of Canada (b at New Jersey 19 May 1767; d at London, Eng 5 Jan 1816). George Prevost was the son of Augustine Prevost, a French-speaking Swiss Protestant who had served with the British army during the siege of Québec in 1759.

During the Cold War, Canada stationed army and air force units abroad for the first time during peacetime. Soldiers and airmen began to arrive in the early 1950s, shortly after the Cold War began, and remained until 1993, after it ended. In total, more than 100,000 Canadian military personnel served in France and West Germany in that period.

James Francis “Stocky” Edwards, CM, fighter and fighter-bomber pilot, ace (born 5 June 1921 in Nokomis, SK; died 14 May 2022 in Comox, BC). Edwards was credited with shooting down 19 enemy aircraft and another 7 “probables” during the Second World War. He also destroyed 12 aircraft and about 200 vehicles on the ground. His actual total was likely higher, as Edwards was unconcerned with claiming victories. He fought in the North African, Italian and North-West Europe campaigns — a rare record for an Allied pilot. Until his death, Edwards was likely the top surviving fighter pilot in the Commonwealth.

"I thought we were really done for but I was able to get back up into the clouds and I abandoned my attack. But that was a very very close one."

See below for Mr. MacConnell's entire testimony.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

"He said, “Come over here, I’ve got something to show you.” And this is a 50 foot trailer and it’s a refrigerator car. And he opened up the back door and there at the very, very front end was the ice cream for 10,000 people."

See below for Mr. Joyce's entire testimony.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Murray Hyman Kirsh served in the Canadian Army during the Second World War. After his grandparents were killed by Nazis in Europe, Kirsh felt it was his duty to enlist to serve in the war. From 1942 to 1944, Kirsh served on the home front as a military officer guarding Allied prisoners of war. Listen to his story of German POWs trying to escape during his watch.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Willard John Bolduc, DFC, Indigenous air force officer, war hero (born 28 December 1915 in Chapleau, ON; died 7 June 1968 in Toronto, ON). Bolduc received the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his role as an air gunner during the Second World War.

Cree code talkers were an elite unit tasked with developing a coded system based on the Cree language for disguising military intelligence. They provided an invaluable service to Allied communications during the Second World War. Although their contributions remained hidden until recently, in part because the code talkers had been sworn to secrecy, their service helped to protect Western Allies and to win the war. Indeed, the Allies’ enemies were never able to break the code.

"And to this day I’m thinking, those kids, and they were all kids, you know, are of one mind or the other mind, was, if anything comes around like this, this low, they’re going to blow them out of the sky with 50-caliber machine guns."

See below for Mr. Lucano's entire testimony.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Major General Bertram (Bert) Meryl Hoffmeister, OC, CB, CBE, DSO & Two Bars, ED, Canadian Army officer, businessman (born 15 May 1907 in Vancouver, BC; died 4 December 1999 in Vancouver, BC). During the Second World War, Hoffmeister commanded the Seaforth Highlanders in Sicily, the 2nd Infantry Brigade at Ortona (1943) and the 5th Canadian Armoured Division, which distinguished itself under his courageous leadership in Italy and later in North-West Europe. Military historian Jack Granatstein has referred to Major General Hoffmeister as one of “the best Canadian fighting generals of the [Second world] war.”When the war ended, Hoffmeister resumed his career in the BC forest industry and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1982.

Herbert William Philp, MM, journalist and soldier (born 31 January 1889 in Sarnia, ON; died 19 January 1920 in Guelph, ON). From August 1914 to January 1919, Herbert Philp wrote detailed letters about his life as a soldier with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during the First World War. Most of his correspondence has survived, providing present-day readers with a first-hand account of the war from an enlisted man’s perspective and a unique window into a period when letters from the Western Front were subject to strict military censorship (see War Measures Act).

Since the First World War, there have been four major initiatives to allow Canadian artists to document Canadian Armed Forces at war. Canada’s first official war art program, the Canadian War Memorials Fund (1916–19), was one of the first government-sponsored programs of its kind. It was followed by the Canadian War Art Program (1943–46) during the Second World War. The Canadian Armed Forces Civilian Artists Program (1968–95) and the Canadian Forces Artists Program (2001–present) were established to send civilian artists to combat and peacekeeping zones. Notable Canadian war artists have included A.Y. Jackson, F.H. Varley, Lawren Harris, Alex Colville and Molly Lamb Bobak.

François-Gaston, Duc de Lévis, French army officer (born 20 August 1719 near Limoux, France; died 26 November 1787 in Arras, France). Born into an impoverished branch of the French nobility, he rose through the military hierarchy thanks to his family connections, his sangfroid and his bravery on the battlefield. Deployed to New France during the Seven Years’ War, he was named second-in-command to Marquis Louis-Joseph de Montcalm. On 28 April 1760, he won the Battle of Ste-Foy against the British garrison in Quebec City commanded by James Murray.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Erin O’Toole, Member of Parliament (2012–), leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and leader of the Opposition (2020–2022), (born 22 January 1973 in Montreal, QC). Erin O’Toole served in the Royal Canadian Air Force and worked as a corporate lawyer before being elected as the Member of Parliament for Durham, Ontario, in 2012. He served as Minister of Veterans Affairs in 2015. In August 2020, he was elected leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and became the leader of the Opposition. Following the party’s loss in the September 2021 federal election, O’Toole resigned as leader on 2 February 2022 after the Conservative caucus voted in favour of his removal. He continues to serve as the MP for Durham.

Henry Louis Norwest, Cree sniper during the First World War (born 1884 in Fort Saskatchewan, North-West Territories [present-day Alberta]; died 8 August 1918 in Amiens, France). While serving overseas, Henry Norwest was credited with 115 confirmed kills and received a Military Medal and Bar for his exploits on the battlefield.

John Archibald (Archie) MacNaughton, soldier, farmer (born 7 October 1896 in Black River Bridge, NB; died 6 June 1944 in Normandy, France). Archie MacNaughton fought in both the First World War and Second World War. MacNaughton rose to the rank of major and was a well-respected officer with the North Shore New Brunswick Regiment. When he was 47 years old, MacNaughton led North Shore’s “A” Company into Normandy on D-Day. He was killed in action while pushing inland from Juno Beach.