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Matron Margaret Fraser and the tragedy of the Llandovery Castle
Matron Margaret Marjory Fraser, from New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, was a nursing sister working aboard the Canadian hospital ship HMHS Llandovery Castle when it was torpedoed and sunk by the German U-Boat U-86 on…
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Four Faces: Goddard, Giesebrecht, Blais and Mendes
Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan was unique in a number of ways. It was the first time a NATO member country invoked Article 5, where an attack on one member is seen as an attack…
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Cynthia Oakley – CWAC Officer
A native of Toronto, Cynthia Oakley was one of many Canadian women who enlisted in the Canadian Army Women’s Service during World War II. Through her service in Canada and Europe, she paved the…
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Miriam Freedman – Travelling the Roads of War
Between 1939 and 1945, Miriam Freedman served with the British army and then the Canadian army. Her service exemplifies the incredible journey of many Canadian women away from the beaten path during the Second…
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Tremblay, Deschamps, Ogilvie et Bolduc: Four remarkable stories from Aviation Nation
In 2025, the ARC Foundation published their latest children book: Aviation Nation: How Canadians Contributed to Flight and Space Around the World. Discover an exclusive excerpt from this new book!
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Three Firsts: Captain Nichola Goddard, MSM
On May 17, 2006, during the Battle of Bayanzi in Afghanistan, Captain Nichola Goddard became the first Canadian woman to direct artillery fire in a combat situation, precisely coordinating howitzers and helicopters under intense…
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The rank of nurses during the First World War
Did you know that Canadian nurses were the only women to hold an officer’s rank during the First World War? In fact, the nurses’ rank stems from a long-standing administrative practice dating back to…
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The Normandy Landings: Myths, facts, and legacies of a complex liberation
How could GIs be persuaded to land on the beaches of Normandy and brave enemy fire? While patriotism and solidarity against Nazi crimes were powerful motivations, the U.S. military in 1944 also used a…
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Food and the First World War
Have you ever heard the old saying “an army marches on its stomach”? During the First World War, Canada produced millions of pounds of food that was sent to the warfront. But how did…
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The Military Service of Elizabeth II
Did you know that Queen Elizabeth II served in the British Army for a short time during World War II? Discover this brief period of her life with this article, while she was still…
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Mary Greyeyes Reid – The person behind the photo
Mary Greyeyes Reid was the first Indigenous woman to join the Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWAC). That fact alone is enough to make her famous. But she’s also the subject of a very famous…
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Lena Hayakawa and her internment in Canada
In 1942, a few months after the start of the Pacific War, thousands of Japanese-Canadians were expelled from their homes and sent to internment camps across the country. During the war, Lena Hayakawa spent…
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Operation UNIFIER: Canada in Ukraine
In 2022, we had the great good fortune to interview Captain Nathalie Gareau, who was deployed to Ukraine in 2019 and tells us about her participation in Operation UNIFIER.
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Winnie Roach-Leuszler – Canadian Athlete
CWAC member Winnie Roach-Leuszler made history by becoming the first Canadian woman or man to swim the English Channel. Discover her feats! Winnie Roach-Leuszler was born in Port Credit, Ontario, in 1926. One of…
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Isabel May McDonald – Teacher, Typographer, and Telegrapher
Isabel May McDonald was one of the many women who enlisted in the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service. In this article, find out how her work contributed to the Allied victory in the Second…
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Canadian Nurses in Hong Kong
Two Canadian nurses accompanied the C-Force sent to Hong Kong in 1941: Kathleen Christie and Anna May Waters. When the colony was captured on December 25, 1941, the two nurses were also taken prisoner.…
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Music in the Canadian Armed Forces
Whether at a ceremonial event or simply on the evening news, we have all seen military music performed at one time or another. You often hear about the combat role of the military, but…
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Sgt. Karen Hermiston and the Canadian Army Film and Photo Unit
In October 1941, the Canadian Army Film Unit (CAFU) was formed by Captain W. G. Abel and John Grierson, considered the father of documentary film in Canada. To that end, the CAFU hired several…
