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 photographers to document the war. Among them was Sergeant Karen Hermiston, the only woman in the unit.

Indeed, at the time, the photos and films shot for the army were not exhaustive: photographers did not film maneuvers or battlefields, which resulted in very short filmed excerpts that were almost unusable. The Canadian Army expressed a desire for better quality film and photography, including filming the use of certain weapons for training purposes or illustrating life in the army to communicate with Canadians and “boost morale and stimulate recruitment.” Among other things, these films and photographs could also serve as historical archives. However, this mission could not be carried out by a civilian company, so a new unit, the CAFU, had to be created.

Grierson’s vision was that photographers would be attached to a regiment and would follow them on the battlefield, thus undergoing the same training as the infantry of the Expeditionary Force. During the fighting, they were briefed in advance and then would go and position themselves near the battlefield equipped with a Bell & Howell Eyemo 35mm camera, a tripod and 900 to 3000 feet of film, which allowed them to film for 30 to 90 minutes. They carried the rolls of film the same way other soldiers carried ammunition!

One of CAFU’s most famous productions is the Canadian Army Newsreel, a ten-minute film that was released on the 15th of each month and provided the troops with news about sporting events, parades, commemorations, training and non-combat activities. When the Canadian Army formally entered the war, the Canadian Army Newsreel also shown images of combat. Take, for example, the 23rd Canadian Army Newsreel, released in 1943:

At first, only four men made up the unit, but soon their numbers grew and included the only female photographer in the Canadian Army: Sergeant Karen Hermiston, nicknamed “Hermie”.

Hermie was frequently told that “there were some things a girl can’t do.” That would not stop her; she did them anyway.

During her time serving overseas, Hermie covered casualties flown back to Swindon, went inside operating rooms, photographed graves for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and flew all over Europe to document the activities for her fellow CWACs. The petite 5’2 photographer earned the respect of her male comrades and defied strongly held gender stereotypes.

Some photos taken by Karen Hermiston:

Re-printed here with the permission of Valour Canada as part of a collaboration between JMS and Valour Canada. To see more articles like this one, check out their Military History Library. Text originally published May 7, 2020. Modified and enriched by Julie Rose, November 24, 2020, for Je me souviens.

For more information:

• Read the original article here.
• For more on this ground-breaking sergeant, “Meet Sgt. Karen Hermeston” [sic].
• To delve into an academic account of the Canadian Army Film Unit in the Second World War, visit “Shooting the War: The Canadian Army Film Unit in the Second World War” by Sarah Klotz who works for Library and Archives Canada
• Finally, be sure to check out the Canadian Army Film & Photo Unit website to learn more about this unit!.