Browse "Second World War"

Andrew George Latta McNaughton, army officer, scientist, diplomat (b at Moosomin, NWT [Sask] 25 Feb 1887; d at Montebello, Qué 11 July 1966).

Growing up in north Winnipeg, one of my most poignant memories of Remembrance Day was attending a school assembly at Andrew Mynarski VC Junior High. On that day, I watched tears of pride stream down the cheeks of Mynarski's mother as the principal told us the story of her son's sacrifice.

The crew took off on its 13th sortie on 12 June 1944 to bomb a German supply line at Cambrai, France. Just after midnight, they were fired on by a German JU-88 fighter, sustaining heavy damage. The pilot ordered the crew to bail out.

Bertram (Bert) Meryl Hoffmeister, soldier, businessman (born 15 May 1907 in Vancouver, BC; died 4 December 1999 in Vancouver).

Prisoners of War (POWs) are members of the military captured in wartime by the enemy. Since the late 19th century, international rules have governed the treatment of POWs, although these are not always followed. Thousands of Canadians have endured time as POWs in conflicts ranging from the First World War to the Korean War.

During the Second World War, Canadian women, for the first time, were mobilized for service in the Canadian Armed Forces. Of the roughly 50,000 women who enlisted, more than half served in the Canadian Army.

In 1949 he airlifted construction material, equipment and personnel to the mountainside Palisade Lake Dam. In 1951 he performed a similar task for the Aluminium Co of Canada's giant smelter complex at Kitimat, BC.

Charles Cecil Ingersoll Merritt, VC, barrister, soldier, Member of Parliament (born 10 November 1908 in Vancouver, BC; died 12 July 2000 in Vancouver). During the Second World War, Lieutenant-Colonel Cec Merritt was the first Canadian to earn the Victoria Cross (VC) in the European theatre, the highest award for bravery among troops of the British Empire.

Charles Foulkes, army officer (b at Stockton-on-Tees, Eng 3 Jan 1903; d at Ottawa 12 Sept 1969).

Charles Goldhamer, painter (b at Philadelphia, Pa 21 Aug 1903; d at Toronto 27 Jan 1985). He was commissioned as one of Canada's official war artists, and his candidly observed charcoal drawings of burned Canadian airmen in an English hospital are some of the most horrific images of WWII.

Charles Roy Slemon, air marshal (b at Winnipeg 7 Nov 1904; d at Colorado Springs, Colo 12 Feb 1992).

Charles Cromwell Martin, DCM, MM, farmer, soldier, civil servant, author (born 18 December 1918 in Wales; died 13 October 1997 in Mississauga, ON). During the Second World War, Warrant Officer Class II (WO II) Charlie Martin was awarded both the Distinguished Conduct Medal and Military Medal. Martin’s "Battle Diary" memoirs, first released in 1994, remain among the most vivid portrayals of the lives of ordinary Canadian soldiers in the war.

Christopher Vokes, soldier (born in Armagh, Ireland, 13 April 1904; died in Toronto, ON, 27 March 1985). A tough-minded Second World War general, Vokes commanded Canadian army divisions in the Italian campaign and during the push through northern Germany at the end of the war. He was one of the few Canadian generals to emerge from the war with a reputation as a skilled operational commander.

Clarence Sutherland Campbell, MBE, sport administrator, lawyer, Second World War veteran (born 7 September 1905 in Fleming, SK; died 23 June 1984 in Montréal, QC). As president of the National Hockey League from 1946 to 1977, Campbell's tenure was longer than any executive in any other sport.

Clarence Rupert (Larry) Dunlap, air marshal (b orn 1 January 1908 in Sydney Mines, NS; died 20 October 2003 in Victoria, BC).

In 1927 he joined Western Canada Airways and dramatized the value of the bush plane, flying vast distances across northern Canada. During one of his historic flights in northern Canada he flew more than 6 000 kilometres in 37 hours over a 12 day period.

Clifford MacKay McEwen, "Black Mike," fighter pilot, air vice-marshal (b at Griswold, Man 2 July 1896; d at Toronto 6 Aug 1967). He was credited with 22 victims while flying with 28 Squadron RAF in Italy in 1918.

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.

David Harry Walker, army officer, novelist (b at Dundee, Scot 9 Feb 1911; d 5 March 1992). Raised in Scotland and England, Walker was aide-de-camp to Canadian Gov Gen John BUCHAN 1938-39, a POW in Europe 1940-45, and comptroller to the viceroy of India 1946-47.

Eedson Louis Millard Burns, soldier, diplomat, author (b at Westmount, Qué 17 June 1897; d at Manotick, Ont 13 Sept 1985). After graduating from RMC in 1915, Burns fought on the Western Front with the Royal Canadian Engineers from 1916 to 1918.