Canada and World War II

Canadian Men and Women

Young World War II airman looking out from a combat aircraft

In 1939, much of Canada was still suffering from the effects of Great Depression of 1929. Ten years later -- still hanging on. Many young men and women were excited to enlist. It was opportunity. It was excitement. They wanted to do their part for "God and Country".

But, sadly for far to many, it was the last thing they did. The war cut their lives far too short.

Click on Edward James Wright below. "Teddy" was just 16 years old when he was Killed in a Flying Accident just 8 days before the end of the war. VE Day (Victory in Europe) was May 8 1945.

Also, review Pamela Gladys Bennett who was killed on active duty on July 13, 1945. Hostilities in Europe had ceased on May 8, 1945 but were still ongoing in the Pacific Theatre of War. So Canada's military on the west coast of Canada were still very active. VJ Day (Victory in Japan) did not come until one month later on August 15, 1945. Japan surrendered after the American nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945.

RCAF Women's Division, being inspected at Linton on Ouse or Leeming in the UK by His Majesty King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother). Princess Elizabeth and several notable RCAF Officers including Air Commodore Fauquier and Air Vice Marashall McEwan were also in the group. An RCAF Handley Page Halifax is in the background, during the Royal visit, 11 Aug 1944. (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4047092)

Corporal RF Neid on a Universal Carrier between Nessaria and Agira in Sicily, July 1943.

Air War Casualties: Start Here (2)

Edward James Wright

428 (B) Sqn (RCAF)

KIFA

1945‑04‑30

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Pamela Gladys Bennett

11 Sqn (RCAF)

KIFA

1945‑07‑13

Victoria, British Columbia

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan

Cessna Crane trainer on display at Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

During WW II Canada built training facilities all across Canada and graduated over 130,000 air crew and over 80,000 ground crew. Young highly skilled men were sent to employ the highest technology available against the enemy.

BCATP Training Chart, from the Airman's Post, Brandon Manitoba, November 1942

Canada Source The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan

YouTube British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (Pathe) 0:53

YouTube BCATP Haldimand Region 0:58

Vimeo Voices From the Past: The Plan (44:39)

Air War Casualties: British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (1686)

🍁William McCulloch

31 SFTS (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑06‑09

Paisley, Scotland UK

Charles Duncan Bremner Green

5 SFTS (RCAF)

Died

1941‑10‑03

Toronto, Ontario

Gordon Robert Day

1 SFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑04‑29

Ottawa, Ontario (parents)

George Edgar Auld

1 ANS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑05‑17

Toronto, Ontario

Harvey Bell Jasper

1 ANS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑05‑17

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

John Robert Kean

1 ANS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑05‑17

Windsor, Ontario

John Henry Albert Crocker

5 EFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑08‑20

Hardisty, Alberta (parents)

Maxwell Lloyd Stephen

1 SFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑09‑02

Toronto, Ontario

Grenville Hammerton Shaw

2 SFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑09‑27

Donald Sidney Thomson Young

2 SFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑09‑27

St John, New Brunswick

Eugene Aloysius Frymark

1 SFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑10‑06

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Thomas Archibald Barr

1 SFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑10‑06

Edmonton, Alberta

Ross Armstrong

1 SFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑10‑30

Winnipeg, Manitoba

James Samuel Eagle Whitmore

11 EFTS (RCAF)

KIVA

1940‑11‑05

Paul David Carvalho

2 EFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑11‑07

Toledo, Ohio, USA (parents)

Percy John Deebank

1 BGS (RCAF)

Died

1940‑11‑08

Cornwall, Ontario

Franklin Jarrett Holley

2 SFTS (RCAF)

Died

1940‑11‑16

Tavistock, Ontario

John Thomas Sinclair

5 EFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑11‑16

Edmonton, Alberta

Kenneth O'Dell Piper

5 EFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑11‑16

Calgary, Alberta

Joseph Arthur William Boyd

1 BGS (RCAF)

KIFLA

1940‑11‑19

Westmount, Quebec

John Harold Whalen

1 SFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑11‑19

Ottawa, Ontario

Robert Samuel Watt

1 SFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑11‑19

St Catharines, Ontario

Peter George Mason

2 SFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑11‑22

London, Ontario

Charles Harold Morgan

2 SFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑11‑22

St Catharines, Ontario

Frederick Edgar Wellington

9 EFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑11‑23

Fonthill, Ontario

Donald Fielden Whitaker

9 EFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑11‑23

Waterloo, Ontario

Louis MacAdam Duff

3 EFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑11‑25

Montreal, Quebec

John Edwards Higginbotham

3 EFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑11‑25

South Orange, New Jersey, USA

Thomas Francis Crozier Lucas

1 EFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑12‑05

Moy, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland

John Spencer Debenham

31 ANS (RAF)

Drowned

1940‑12‑07

Bert Aiden George

31 ANS (RAF)

Drowned

1940‑12‑07

Stuart Tresilian Ogilvy

1 SFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑12‑07

Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

John Henry McNally

4 BGS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑12‑08

Minaki, Ontario

Ernest William Bourne

4 BGS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑12‑08

Oshawa, Ontario

Leon Arthur Hood

4 BGS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑12‑08

Adrian, Michigan, USA

Clayton Peder Hopton

1 SFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑12‑12

Cabri, Saskatchewan

William James Phillip Gosling

1 SFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑12‑13

Edmonton, Alberta

Lionel Francis

1 SFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑12‑13

Peter Campbell

1 SFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑12‑13

Theodore Scribner Bates

1 SFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑12‑13

Guelph, Ontario

James Dalton Bilkey

6 SFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑12‑14

Westmount, Quebec

Robson Thomas Jewitt

1 EFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑12‑21

Horning's Mills, Ontario (parents)

Charles Richard Dickie

1 EFTS (RCAF)

KIFA

1940‑12‑21

Canning, Kings County, Nova Scotia (parents)

Roderick James Joseph Boll

3 SFTS (RCAF)

Died

1940‑12‑25

Viceroy, Saskatchewan

Henry (Harold) Levy

31 SFTS (RAF)

KIFA

1940‑12‑30

Toronto, Ontario

George Douglas Lowe

31 SFTS (RAF)

KIFA

1940‑12‑30

Waterloo, Ontario

James Douglas Ross

1 ANS (RCAF)

KIFA

1941‑01‑06

Assiniboia, Saskatchewan

Gordon James Lewis

1 ANS (RCAF)

KIFA

1941‑01‑06

Toronto, Ontario

Edward John Pink

1 ANS (RCAF)

KIFA

1941‑01‑06

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Leonard Joseph Gray

1 ANS (RCAF)

KIFA

1941‑01‑06

Niagara Falls, Ontario

Trans-Atlantic Aircraft Ferrying

Joe Wilson farmer near Emerson Manitoba hauls a Lockheed Hudson bomber across the border at Pembina circa February 1940. The horses are Prince and Fred.

From the beginning of the war in 1939, Canada was instrumental in acquiring aircraft from the USA and transporting them to Britain for use in the European War. Before December 7, 1941 (Pearl Harbour), the USA was trying to remain neutral and would not ship aircraft to a combatant country under the terms of the Neutrality Act of 1939.

So, a "technical compliance" mechanism was created. Lockheed is a manufacturer of military aircraft. In late 1939, Lockheed built an airport just outside of Pembina North Dakota, right on the Canadian border. The USA could not deliver military aircraft to a combatant nation, that is Canada, but they could deliver them to the airport in Pembina North Dakota USA, and Canadian workers could pull them across the border into Canada -- fully compliant with the Neutrality Act.

Current Google Map of Emerson / Pembina

General Canadian Aviation Historical Society

Deparkes at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Trans-Atlantic Ferrying of Aircraft was coordinated from Montreal by Canadian Pacific Limited. This function was immensely important as previously aircraft were shipped by ocean vessel which was complicated, required disassembling of aircraft, slow, and subject to loss in the Battle of the Atlantic.

Transatlantic flight came of age under Canadian leadership in the 1940's.

Wkikpedia North Atlantic Aircraft Ferrying

Air War Casualties: Ferry Command & Trans-Atlantic (421)

Sir Frederick Grant Banting

ATFERO (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑02‑21

Toronto, Ontario

William Snailham

ATFERO (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑02‑20

Bedford, Nova Scotia

Joseph Creighton Mackey

ATFERO (RAF)

Survived

1982‑02‑14

Kansas City, Kansas, USA

William Bird

ATFERO (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑02‑20

Kidderminster, Worcestershire

Wilfred Bratherton

45 OADF (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑07‑25

New Westminster, British Columbia

Keith Fergus Arnold

OADF (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑07‑25

Kindersley, Saskatchewan

Alfred James Williams

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑03

Herefordshire, England

Gordon Allen Lee Webby

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑03

George Herbert Powell

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Wilfrid Graves Kennedy

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Ottawa, Ontario

John Evan Price

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Geelong, Victoria, Australia

Francis Delaforce Bradbrooke

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Toronto, Ontario

William Kenneth Marks

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Lethbridge, Alberta

Daniel Joseph Duggan

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Winthrop, Massachusetts

Jack Wixen

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Josiah James Anderson

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

Ernest George Reeves

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Roslyn Heights, New Jersey

Herbert David Rees

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Felinfoel, Llanelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales

John James Rouleston

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA

Albert Alexander Oliver

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Birkenhead, Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England

Henry Samuel Green

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Earl's Court, London, England

Ernest Robert Bristow White

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Uplands, Bristol, England

George Laing

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Montreal, Quebec

Hoyt Ralph Judy

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Wheeler, Texas, USA

George Thomas Harris

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Lawrence, Kansas

Watt Miller King

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Little Rock, Arkansas

Harold Clifford Wesley Smith

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Toronto, Ontario

Hugh Cameron McIntosh

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Markham, Ontario

John Beatty Drake

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

New Westminster, British Columbia

Ralph Brammer

45 (Ferry) Group (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑10

Toronto, Ontario

Murray Benjamin Dilley

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

Kansas, USA

Alton Chester Earl

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

Huntington, West Virginia

Gerald Hull

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Philip Francis Lee

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

Urbana, Maryland

Albert Tamblin

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

Port Arthur, Ontario

Richard Charles Stafford

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

St Andrews, Fife, Scotland

Walter Lee Trimble

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

Texas, USA

Richard Coates

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

Martin Joseph Wetzel

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

Monroe, New Jersey

John Joseph MacDonald

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

Wesley Francis James Goddard

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

Canada

Roland Folford Davis

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

Edward C Hamel

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

Braintree, Massachusetts

Joseph Culbert

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

Elbert Beard Anding

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

Merrick, Long Island, New York

Glenwood McKay

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

Toronto, Ontario

John Joseph Kerwin

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

James John Moffat

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

Toronto, Ontario

Robert Arnold Duncan

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

Port Arthur, Ontario

Sir Arthur Blaikie Purvis

Ferry Command (RAF)

KIFA

1941‑08‑14

Montreal Quebec, Canada

Overview - Battle of the Atlantic

"VC Attack" by Graham Wragg illustrates Flight Lieutenant David Hornell's valiant attack on a U-Boat 1225 during the Battle of the Atlantic. PHOTO: DND

The battle of the Atlantic was a naval-naval and air-naval battle. It was Germany's goal to blockade Britain, which was receiving massive supplies of food fuel and weapons from Canada and the USA. The U-boats were attacking Merchant Navy Convoys and they were being defended by escort Naval ships (Destroyers and Corvettes) as well as air support from flying boats such as Canso/Catalinas. Later in the war B24 Liberators were used as long range patrol bombers.

Convoy in Bedford Basin, Halifax, April 1, 1942. National Archives of Canada, PA-112993.

As a small island country, the United Kingdom was highly dependent on imported goods. Britain required more than a million tons of imported material per week in order to survive and fight. In essence, the Battle of the Atlantic involved a tonnage war: the Allied struggle to supply Britain and the Axis attempt to stem the flow of merchant shipping that enabled Britain to keep fighting.

Various petroleum products, primarily gasoline were required for the war effort. Britain produced ZERO fuel. 6 billion barrels of petroleum product were shipped from the USA via convoys. (159 litres in a barrel)

From 1942 onward the Axis also sought to prevent the build-up of Allied supplies and equipment in the British Isles in preparation for the invasion of occupied Europe. The defeat of the U-boat threat was a prerequisite for pushing back the Axis in Western Europe. The outcome of the battle was a strategic victory for the Allies"�the German blockade failed"�but at great cost: 3,500 merchant ships and 175 warships were sunk in the Atlantic for the loss of 783 U-boats (the majority of them Type VII submarines) and 47 German surface warships, including 4 battleships (Bismarck, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Tirpitz), 9 cruisers, 7 raiders, and 27 destroyers. Of the U-boats, 519 were sunk by British, Canadian, or other allied forces, while 175 were destroyed by American forces; 15 were destroyed by the Soviets and 73 were scuttled by their crews before the end of the war for various reasons. Wikipedia: Battle of the Atlantic

Canada Source Battle of the Atlantic (Canadian Encyclopedia)

YouTube Battle of the Atlantic: Timeline Series

Museum Battle of the Atlantic Article

Bletchley Park

Bletchley Park was an ultra secret operation whose purpose was to decode the messages created by the German Enigma machine. Some of the greatest minds in Britain were employed at Bletchley Park. The most famous was Alan Turing.

YouTube Battle of the Atlantic (Bletchley Park)

YouTube The Enigma Machine

Museum Codebreaking and the Battle of the Atlantic

Movies

Although it is a fictional American film, it is an excellent portrayal of real events. It is the story of the mid-Atlantic gap (the Black Pit), where there was no air cover for the convoys. The convoys typically had air cover from Yarmouth Nova Scotia, Reykjavík Iceland and John-o-Groats in Scotland. But, there was still a gap. It also references "Dicky", a Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette, HMCS Dodge, call sign "Dicky".

USA Source Greyhound Trailer (Youtube)

Museum The True Story Behind Greyhound (Smithsonian Magazine)

General Uboat Losses 1942 (Year of Greyhound Movie)

🍁 indicates airmen of specific interest. They are not more important than other deaths, but do serve to illustrate an aspect of the conflict.

Air War Casualties: Battle of the Atlantic (178)

🍁John William Borum

(RCAF)

KIA

1943‑04‑22

Pine Valley, San Diego County, California, USA

🍁David Ernest Hornell

162 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑25

Mimico, Ontario

James Harold Charles Wiskin

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1940‑04‑20

Belleville, Ontario

Maxwell James Armitage

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1940‑07‑15

South March, Ontario

Joseph Jean Alexander Victor Lalonde

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1940‑07‑15

Outremont, Quebec

John Gordon Richardson

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1940‑11‑17

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Hollis Eugene Howard

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1940‑11‑17

Aylesford, Nova Scotia

Gilbert Frederick Clay

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1940‑11‑17

New Westminster, British Columbia (parents)

Frederick Judson Bell

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1941‑06‑03

Toronto, Ontario (parents)

Gerald Barclay Snow

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1941‑06‑03

Ottawa, Ontario (parents)

Ivan Lloyd George Gillis

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1941‑06‑03

Paradise, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia (parents)

Gordon Allen Dilworth

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1941‑06‑03

Rush Lake, Saskatchewan (parents)

Douglas Earl Craig

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1941‑06‑03

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (parents)

William Hume Mather

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1941‑07‑26

Turnbridge Wells, Kent, England

Ronald Laird McDavid

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1941‑07‑26

Flat Lands, New Brunswick

Allan Gower Pratt

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1941‑07‑26

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Martin Edward Tomsett

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1941‑07‑26

Regina, Saskatchewan

Mervyn Samuel Hunt

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1941‑07‑26

Calgary, Alberta

Thomas James Larmour Crawford

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1941‑07‑26

Toronto, Ontario (parents)

John Sydney Legon

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1941‑12‑29

Peterborough, Ontario

Cecil George Heeney

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1941‑12‑29

Ottawa, Ontario

Albert William Runte

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1941‑12‑29

Montreal, Quebec

Arthur Chapman

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1941‑12‑29

Toronto, Ontario

Kenneth George Schaefer

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1941‑12‑29

Hanover, Ontario

James William Paul Skidmore

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1941‑12‑29

Drexel Hul, Pennsylvania, USA

Joseph Hyacinthe Ulysses Le Blanc

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑05‑06

St Joseph, New Brunswick

Smith Edward Crymes

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑05‑06

Lonoke, Arkansas, USA (parents)

Charles Frederick Else

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑05‑06

St Thomas, Ontario

Rudolph Irwin Ehrlichman

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑05‑06

Seattle, Washington, USA

William Freeborne Colville

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑05‑06

Bowmanville, Ontario (parents)

Harold Fulford Taylor

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑05‑06

Harold, Ontario

Monty Holt Brothers

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑05‑06

Wroxeter, Ontario

Norman Clifford Fleischman

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑05‑06

Hespeler, Ontario

Joffre Kitchener McDonald

113 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑06‑01

Elkhorn, Manitoba

Charles Leonard Scholey

113 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑06‑01

Ryerson, Saskatchewan

Trask O'Neil Johnson

113 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑06‑01

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

John Roderick McPherson

113 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑06‑01

Winnipeg, Manitoba

George Taylor Crerar

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑07‑10

Bright, Ontario (parents)

Charles Harold Finniss

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑07‑10

Vancouver, British Columbia

Edwin Joseph Padden

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑07‑10

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Douglas Earle Corey

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑07‑10

Bedford, Quebec (parents)

Stanley St George Stubbs

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑07‑10

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Tomas Harold Few

10 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑07‑10

Oak River, Manitoba

W L Junge

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑09‑25

Arthur Roland Booth

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑09‑25

Brantford, Ontario

Charles Gordon Sawyer

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑09‑25

Victoria, British Columbia

David Mcgillivray Knowles

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑09‑25

Toronto, Ontario

John Douglas Selig

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑09‑25

Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia

Roy Alfred Martin

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑10‑14

St Catharines, Ontario

Frederick Eugene Davies

11 (BR) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑10‑14

Edmonton, Alberta

Questions for David Hornell VC

The Battle of the Atlantic lasted from 1939 until 1945 and Canadians had a very important role in it. Why was the North Atlantic such an important area of the ocean for the Allies and especially Great Britain in World War II?
U-boats

What were U-boats?
What critical role did U-boats have in the War?
Why was it so important for the Allies to destroy as many U-boats as they could?
In June, 1944, the month when David Hornell flew his critical mission how many U-boats were sunk in the Atlantic Ocean?
What were the top three causes of these boats being sunk?

Message Encryption

What was the Enigma Machine?
What was the main purpose of this machine?
Why was it so important for the Allies to break the enigma code?

David Hornell

Where was David from in Canada?
How old was he when he signed up in 1941 and how old was he when he died?

What was his training to prepare him for World War II?
On the night of June 24, 1944, what was the main mission of David Hornell and his fellow crew as they flew their Canso Aircraft?

Explain in detail what happened in the attack.
If you were the pilot of the plane, would you have done the same as David Hornell did? What would you have done that would be different from Hornell?

Outline the series of events that took place after the Canso’s attack.
Imagine you were one of the crew on the Canso aircraft that survived. Write a letter to a good friend dated August 24, 1944, to explain what you were thinking and how you felt once the whole ordeal was over.
Compare to operations today

If this mission had taken place today, what do you think would have been different in terms of the rescue?
If the rescue had been launched today, do you think there would be more survivors from the Canso aircraft? Explain your reasoning.

D. S. Scott was a member of the Canso aircraft crew.

What happened to him after the attack?
What do you think would have been going through his mind just before the end?

In your opinion was David Hornell a hero? Explain your reasoning.

Battle of the St Lawrence

Merchant and Military attacks by German U-Boats Royal Canadian Navy

A little told story is that German U-Boats patrolled Canadian waters from 1940 until 1945. They were a hostile enemy.

German U-boats sank over 20 merchant ships and four Canadian warships. There were several near-shore actions involving the drop of German spies, or the attempted pickup of escaping prisoners of war. Despite the 23 ships lost, this battle marked a strategic victory for Canadian forces as ultimately they managed to disrupt U-boat activity, protect Canadian and Allied convoys, and intercept all attempted shore operations. This marked the first time that a foreign power had inflicted casualties in Canadian inland waters since the US incursions in the War of 1812. Wikipedia

German u-boat U-190 arrives in St. John's, Newfoundland in June 1945 after surrendering

German U-boats roamed free in the North Atlantic early in WW II. The U-boats sunk merchant ships in the St Lawrence River as well as a ferry travelling from North Sydney, Cape Breton to Port-aux-Basque Newfoundland. This was the battle of the St Lawrence.

Sinking of the SS Caribou

Headline: U-Boat Torpedoes NS-Newfoundland Ferry Steamer With Loss of 117 Lives Including 16 Women 14 Children 101 Passengers and Crew Saved by Canadian Naval Craft Montreal Gazette October 17 1943

On the 14th October 1942, SS CARIBOU, on voyage from North Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada to Port aux Basques, Newfoundland with passengers, was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-69, 25 miles south of Port Aux Basques off Cabot Strait. 136 people died.

Story: CARIBOU (Capt. Taverner) was torpedoed by U-69 (Kapitanleutnant Ulrich Graf) while in convoy NL-9, on her regular run between Cape Breton and Newfoundland. Her escort, the minesweeper HMCS GRANDMERE had only short range asdic (sonar detection) and no radar. GRANDMERE did not detect the submarine but sighted it after the attack, giving chase with depth charges as the submarine dove.

U-69's torpedo struck at 2:21 am hitting CARIBOU's boilers. The explosion was very violent and the CARIBOU was ripped in two pieces. She sank in 5 minutes. Survivors were left in overcrowded lifeboats and clinging to wreckage until dawn when GRANDMERE returned from its unsuccessful hunt for U-69. Only 101 of the 237 people aboard survived. 31 crew, 57 military and 48 passengers died.

Part of the passengers on board were women and children, who were heading to Nova Scotia to welcome a contingent of RCN sailors home from overseas. The sinking caused alarm in the Canadian and Newfoundland public about the vulnerability of the St. Lawrence to submarine attack. reference: wrecksite.eu

Canada Source Sinking of the SS Caribou

Canada Source CBC Archives

General Uboat.net Details

Air War Casualties: Battle of the St Lawrence (18)

Lionel Edgar Legge

KIA

1942‑10‑14

Cartyville, Newfoundland

Herbert Harold Elkin

KIA

1942‑10‑14

Hamilton, Ontario

William Bruce Wilson

KIA

1942‑10‑14

Toronto, Ontario

Raymond Watson

KIA

1942‑10‑14

St Catharines, Ontario

Edward George Charles Walker

KIA

1942‑10‑14

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Lawrence William Truesdale

KIA

1942‑10‑14

Hamilton, Ontario

Edward Allan Thistle

KIA

1942‑10‑14

Perth, Ontario

George William Parker

(RCAF)

KIA

1942‑10‑14

Waskatenau, Alberta

Morris Nathan Oiring

(RCAF)

KIA

1942‑10‑14

Montreal, Quebec

Dow Lester Mitchell

KIA

1942‑10‑14

Fredericton, New Brunswick

Charles Michael McCarron

KIA

1942‑10‑14

St Mary's Road, Prince Edward Island

Archie Walker Jones

KIA

1942‑10‑14

Port Hammond, British Columbia

William Palmer Howse

KIA

1942‑10‑14

Carbonear, Newfoundland

Donald Cameron Glover

KIA

1942‑10‑14

Oshawa, Ontario

Thomas Henry Cummings

KIA

1942‑10‑14

Toronto, Ontario (parents)

Fred George Coulson

KIA

1942‑10‑14

Toronto, Ontario

Raymond Chatson

KIA

1942‑10‑14

Timmins, Ontario

John Hamilton Barrett

2 FIS (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑10‑14

North Vancouver, British Columbia

Operation Jubilee - Dieppe Raid

3 Wheel Enigma. The Dieppe Raid was the greatest military disaster in Canadian History. Historians are divided on its purpose but one influential Canadian historian believes the purpose was to capture a new 4 wheel Enigma Machine.

The Dieppe Raid was the most unsuccessful military operation in Canadian History.

YouTube Dieppe Uncovered by David O'Keefe

General Project 44 Dieppe Raid Timeline

General Combined Operations - Dieppe

Lots more to follow.

Air War Casualties: Operation Jubilee (12)

Carl Adrian Beach

88 Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1942‑08‑19

Rutland, Vermont, USA

Robert James Corrigan

226 (MB) Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1942‑08‑19

Quebec City, Quebec (parents)

Paul Clark McGillicuddy

418 Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑08‑19

Toronto, Ontario

Stirling David Banks

3 (NF) Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1942‑08‑19

Poplar Grove, Prince Edward Island

David Garrett Burlingham

400 Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑08‑19

Petersfield, Manitoba

Ronald Harvey Loyns

66 Sqn

KIA

1942‑08‑19

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Norman Monchier

403 Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑08‑19

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

John Edwin Gardiner

403 Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑08‑19

Ottawa, Ontario

Paris Richmond Eakins

411 Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑08‑19

Minnedosa, Manitoba

Morton Haist Buckley

401 Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑08‑19

Fonthill, Ontario

John Neville Brookhouse

412 (F) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑08‑19

Magog, Quebec

Leclare Allerthon Walker

403 Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1942‑08‑19

Hamilton, Ontario

D-Day June 6, 1944 & Battle of Normandy

Canadian troops wading ashore on Juno Beach -- June 6 1944

On June 6, 1944 the Allies invaded "Fortress Europe" by successfully landing 156,000 men and all associated equipment on the beaches in Normandy. There were five landing beaches. British: Gold and Sword Beach, Canadians: Juno Beach and USA: Omaha and Utah Beach. The fighting was very hard and the objectives that were hoped for on that day were not taken for a week. However, it was beginning of the end for the occupying German forces, and by December 1944, The Allies had pushed back all the way to Germany.

YouTube D-Day: Juno Beach 1:01

YouTube D-Day: Archie McNaughton 1:00

Air War Casualties: D-Day & the Battle of Normandy (50)

🍁Andrew Charles Mynarski

419 (B) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑13

Winnipeg, Manitoba

🍁George Patrick Brophy

419 (B) Sqn (RCAF)

Evader

1944‑06‑13

Port Arthur, Ontario

Donald Joseph Eugene Schmitz

243 Sqn

KIA

1944‑06‑05

Humboldt, Saskatchewan

John Walton Saville

439 Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑05

Vancouver, British Columbia

Francis Edward James Day

5158 (Comm) MSU (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Winona, Ontario (parents)

Harvey Edgar Jones

233 Sqn

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Niagara Falls, Ontario

Nathan Louis Berger

233 Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Montreal, Quebec

Roy Hudson Tranter

426 (B) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Peterborough, Ontario

Graham William Durnin

426 (B) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Goderich, Ontario

Richard Reginald Irvine

426 (B) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Dublin, Ireland

Roy Frank Carol

426 (B) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Winnipeg,Manitoba

Morris Soren Forsberg

426 (B) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Dunblane, Saskatchewan

Joseph Francis Terence Beesley

426 (B) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Kamloops, British Columbia

Herbert William Rieger

97 (B) Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Hamilton, Ontario

William Robert McCutcheon

97 (B) Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Summerland, British Columbia

Arthur Hugh Grange

582 Sqn

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Niagara Falls, Ontario

Jack Scott Cox

430 (F) Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Brockville, Ontario (parents)

Joseph Michael Guy Leroy Lavoie

253 Sqn

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Montreal, Quebec

Irvine Nathaniel Caskey

620 Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Macdonald,Manitoba

Thomas Frederick Barker

620 Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Toronto, Ontario

Wilmot Reginald Pettit

620 Sqn

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Brantford, Ontario

Leonard Ralph Allman

440 Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Schenectady, New York, USA

Melsom Henry Walter Gee

183 Sqn

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Adrian Ralph Taylor

183 Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑06

Bell Island, Conception Bay, Newfoundland

Marshall William Card

127 Wing (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Bothwell,Ontario (parents)

Harry Wilfred Boyd

127 Wing (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Weston, Ontario (parents)

Nicholas Somolenko

127 Wing (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

New Westminster, British Columbia

Merle Faxon Kimmerly

127 Wing (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Selby, Ontario

William Henry Oakley

271 Sqn

KIA

1944‑06‑07

St Boniface, Manitoba

Lorne Cheatham Flather

271 Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Vancouver, British Columbia

William Frederick Smith

9 (B) Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

James Morton Stevenson

9 Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Parkchester, New York, USA

Clifford Roy King

9 (B) Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

South Woodford, United Kingdom

Norman Marshall Hannah

9 (B) Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Ayr, Ayrshire, United Kingdom

Frank Norman Harder

9 (B) Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Southhampton, United Kingdom

Rubin Iain Hood

9 (B) Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

John Douglas Gallagher

576 (B) Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Port St Nicoll, Ontario

Wilfred Howard Way

576 (B) Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Brandon, Manitoba

Joseph Pearson Duns

576 (B) Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Caledonia, Ontario

William David Wendt

19 Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Little Falls, Minnesota, USA

William John Drope

421 Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Regina, Saskatchewan

Norman Marshall

401 Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

London, Ontario

Robert Jackson Grigg

421 Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Sault Ste Marie, Ontario

James Henry Munroe

299 Sqn

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Hamilton, Ontario

Francis Allan Boyce

299 (SD) Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

St Sylvestre, Quebec

Theodore Henry Schrump

299 Sqn

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Toronto, Ontario

James Harrison Clark

299 (B) Sqn (RAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Isabella, Manitoba (parents)

Wilfred Joseph Mahagan

440 Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Port Colborne, Ontario

Leon Parent

263 Sqn

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Ste Agathe Des Monts, Quebec

Stanley Vincent Garside

440 Sqn (RCAF)

KIA

1944‑06‑07

Edmonton, Alberta

Canada and The Netherlands

The Canadian Christmas Vigils: CANDLES LIT in GROESBEEK & HOLTEN. Every Christmas Eve, local school children come to Holten & Groesbeek Canadian Military Cemeteries in the Netherlands to light a candle in honour of every soldier laid to rest. The act is both humbling and beautiful, as well as a reminder to be grateful for the peace we enjoy today.

YouTube Invasion by Nazi Germany May 1940

The Netherlands (much older English texts refers to the country Holland) was invaded by Germany in May 1940. The take-over was swift.

The Princess Comes to Canada

The Netherlands has a monarchy. Queen Wilhemena went to London UK for the balance of the war. But, because of the Blitz, she felt that her children unsafe and they were sent to Canada.

Canada Source The Dutch Royal Family in Canada

Birth in Ottawa

News that Princess Juliana was expecting her third child was broadcast in the autumn of 1942. In hiding with her family in Amsterdam, Anne Frank wrote in her diary on 21 September, "I sometimes listen to the Dutch broadcasts from London. Prince Bernhard recently announced that Princess Juliana is expecting a baby in January, which I think is wonderful. No one here understands why I take such an interest in the Royal Family." In his radio broadcasts, Bernhard warned the Dutch against celebrating openly while still under occupation.

If the baby was a boy, he would be next in line to the Dutch throne after his mother, Crown Princess Juliana. The Earl of Athlone therefore decreed that the maternity ward at the Ottawa Civic Hospital would be declared extraterritorial for the birth, ensuring that the baby would have Dutch citizenship alone. Four rooms were set aside at the Ottawa Civic Hospital for Juliana, the baby, the nurse and the security team.

Margriet was named for the daisies worn by members of the Dutch resistance. Queen Wilhelmina stated in a radio broadcast, "It is the intention of the parents through their choice of a name to establish a lifelong bond between our grievously tried people in the occupied part of the kingdom and the newly born." Juliana told her husband, "I'm really glad it's a girl. If it had been a son, perhaps there would have been too much excitement in Holland and even victims. Now, I can breathe easier."

Margriet's birth prompted widespread rejoicing. F.E.H. Groenman, the Dutch minister to Canada stated at a reception that he hosted, "For us, 1943 is the year of our rising hope." In honour of her birth, the Dutch flag flew from Ottawa's Peace Tower (the first time a foreign flag was flown alone from the Parliament Buildings) and the bells played the Dutch national anthem.

Margriet's christening took place at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Ottawa on 29 June 1943. Crowds outside the church applauded the arrival of the Earl and Countess of Athlone with the baby's grandmother, Queen Wilhelmina. The Earl of Athlone, American president Franklin Roosevelt, and members of the Dutch merchant marine were among her godparents. With the arrival of a third daughter, Juliana and her children moved into a larger residence, Stornoway in Rockcliffe Park, which is now the residence of the leader of the official opposition, where they lived for the remainder of the Second World War. The Canadian Encyclopedia

Princess Margriet 2020

Battle of the Scheldt Estuary

Buffalos coming ashore on the river Ijssel with members of the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, 13 April 1945. (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3199041)

The Battle of the Scheldt in World War II was a series of military operations led by the First Canadian Army, with Polish and British units attached, to open up the shipping route to Antwerp so that its port could be used to supply the Allies in north-west Europe. Under acting command of the First Canadian's Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds, the battle took place in northern Belgium and southwestern Netherlands from 2 October to 8 November 1944. Wikipedia

The dikes on Walcheren Island and in other locations were deliberately breached to flood the German occupied territories along the Scheldt Estuary. Because the terrain is low, wet and muddy, the Canadians used Buffalos to cross the shallow wet areas, rather than cross the heavily defended bridges in order to take back the territory.

Wkikpedia Battle of the Scheldt

YouTube Netflix: The Forgotten Battle

YouTube Battle for the Scheldt Documentary (Dutch with English subtitles) 54:10

Operations Map October / November 1944

YouTube Liberation by Canadians

Operation Mana (Americans called it Chow Hound)

Operation Mana Over Rotterdam

When the Germans retreated from Netherlands, they took all food and all livestock. The Dutch people were starving. Some starved to death, but relief came in the form of bombers converted to drop food instead of bombs. Hundreds of thousands were saved from starvation.

Anne Frank

Please read "The Diary of Anne Frank". It tells the story of a young Jewish girl who died in a concentration camp in February 1945 at the age of 15. At the beginning of the war Netherlands had approximately 140,000 Jews. Over 100,000 were killed in Nazi extermination camps. Anne hid and escaped the roundup by hiding in an attic from 1942 to 1944. In February 1945 she died of Typhoid in Bergen-Belsen in February 1945. Anne and her sister's memorial is (click here)

YouTube Who was Anne Frank?

YouTube Children placing candles at Canadian Graves at Groesbeek Netherlands

Tulips in Ottawa

Tulips 2019

Upon returning to the Netherlands, Princess Juliana sought to thank Ottawa and the Canadian people with several gifts, including 100,000 tulip bulbs. Since then, the Dutch royal family has sent tulip bulbs to Canada's capital each year — a lasting gift known as the "Tulip Legacy". This gift of friendship symbolizes the relationship between Canada and the Netherlands. The tulip was designated Ottawa's official flower in 2001.

🍁 indicates airmen buried at Groesbeek.