Updated: 17 December, 2007

Canada

Research Corner

• Awards to the Royal Canadian Navy - This superb web site , by Commander (Rtd) John Blatherwick, CM, CD, MD, FRCP(C),  is dedicated to the Men and Women of the Royal Canadian Navy from 1910 to 1968. The majority of the site relates to the Honours and Awards of World War Two with some details on World War One, Korea, the post-war era and Canadians in the Royal Navy prior to World War One. Awards and citations to the Merchant Navy are also included. Jun 05

• Medals Chart (DND) (Revised Nov 01)

• Orders, Decorations and Medals of Canada Megan Robertson

• Bill C-210 An Act to prohibit the sale of Canadian military and police medals.
• Canadian Forces – Honour and Awards - FAQs:

  1.	Can I wear tour numerals with my MFO medal?
  2.	Do I have to have my medals court-mounted?
  3.	How do I apply for medals from the First and Second World Wars, and from the United Nations Operations - Korea - 1950-1953?
  4.	How do I replace lost/stolen medals?
  5.	How to I get a Special Service Medal (SSM)?
  6.	I received a foreign award. May I wear it on my uniform?
  7.	I served in the Gulf and Kuwait War. May I wear my Saudi Arabian medal as well as my Canadian Gulf and Kuwait Medal?
  8.	May I wear a relative's medals?
  9.	What is the process for recommending awards to Canadian Forces' individuals or units, such as Bravery Awards (BA), Meritorious Service Decorations (MSD), Mentions-in-Dispatch (MID), Chief of the Defence Staff Commendations or Canadian Forces Unit Commendations?
  10.	What is the process for the acceptance and wear of foreign awards by CF members?
  11.	What is the submission, selection and announcement process for the Order of Military Merit?
  12.	Where do I wear tour numerals on my NATO Service medal?
  13.	Who controls national honours policy?
  14.	Who is eligible to receive the Order of Military Merit?

  Canadian Military History Since the 17th Century.  (7.61 MB - PDF File Format - DHH Website) Proceedings of the Canadian Military History Conference, Ottawa, 5-9 May 2000

  Introduction to the Study of MILITARY HISTORY for Canadian Students  (429Kb- PDF File Format - DHH Website) Edited by: Colonel C.P. STACEY, O.C., O.B.E., C.D., Former Director, Directorate of History, Canadian Forces Headquarters, Ottawa, Sixth Edition, 4th Revision Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1964

• Casebook: The War of 1812 - The War of 1812 has been unjustly overlooked: The British see it as a sideshow to the Napoleonic Wars. In the United States, it stands in the shadows of the Civil War and Revolutionary War. Canadians, however, see it as the making of their nation. In truth, it was the making of the United States as well. . . .(Christopher T. George) (Oct 02)

• War of 1812 Website Links

• The story of Riel's revolt. Canada 1885 Part I by Major General T. Bland Strange

• Red River Rebellion

• Northwest Rebellion of 1885

  • Reminiscences of the North-West Rebellions - By Major Charles A. Boulton, Commanding Boulton's Scouts, Toronto: 1886 (Appears to be the complete document - 20 Chapters) (Aug 02)

  • Riel's twice-stolen relic In 1885, Canadian soldiers from small-town Ontario were summoned to the Prairies in what is now Saskatchewan to crush a Métis revolt led by Riel. They also plundered the bell from the church in Batoche during what was the war's final skirmish. The soldiers smuggled the bell home to Millbrook, southwest of Peterborough, where it was considered the prize of the battle, and was eventually put proudly on display at the local Royal Canadian Legion branch. Until 1991, when it was stolen a second time. Mr. Guiboche says he and another man broke into the legion to reclaim the bell in honour of Riel and with an eye to displaying it somewhere more befitting a Métis icon. group of soldiers from Ontario's Midland Provisional Battalion, Sergeant Ed McCorry among them, plucked the bell from its perch — along with a host of other objects — and wrapped it in a blanket and took it home to Protestant Ontario as a spoil of war. Before leaving, Mr. Guiboche noticed some war medals on display. He looked at them and then to his friend before returning his gaze to the medals. He says his friend shoved them in the bag. “It was payback,” the pair agreed. theglobeandmail.com 8 Oct 05

    • Local OPP working with RCMP on return of medals to the Millbrook Legion Peterborough County OPP have opened the lines of communication with the RCMP in Manitoba to solve the mystery behind the whereabouts of the Bell of Batoche. Last Saturday, The Globe and Mail published an article detailing that a Winnipeg man, Gary Floyd Guiboche, had confessed that he and a friend broke into the Legion and stole the silver bell and hid it in Manitoba. "It's been a cold file since 1991. With this new information that has come forward, we have to act on it." mykawartha.com 14 Oct 05

• Niagara Collection (Niagara Peninsula--History; Canada--History--War of 1812; United States--History--War of 1812; Welland Canal (Ont.) (National Library of Canada)

• Fort Henry Adventure (The)
• Fortress of Louisbourg

Boer War

• Queen's South African Medal (The Pine Tree Web)

• Soldiers of the South African War (1899 - 1902) Online database search Library and Archives Canada

• Canadians in the South African War (1899-1902) (List Units, Battles) (Canadian War Museum)

• How to trace an ancestor (Who served in the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902)

• Canadian Casualties of the Boer War (Harold Leduc)

Troops killed in Boer War get their due  CVWM  Sproule (Jun 02)

The Canadian Anglo-Boer War Museum Featuring the people, places, events, memorabilia, and medals of the Boer War

• With The Royal Canadians  (501Kb- PDF File Format - DHH Website) By Stanley McKeown Brown War Correspondent. Toronto: The Publishers' Syndicate, Limited, 1900

WWI

• Search Military & CivilianWWI Personnel Records - Over 600,000 Canadians enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during the First World War (1914-1918). The CEF database is an index to those personnel files, which are held by the National Archives. To date, over 350,000 images of Attestation papers have been scanned and are being made available on-line. (National Archives)

• Kings Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Militia - Minister of Militia and Defence, Canada 1917 . This is a very rare book that is fundamental to researchers studying the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the Great War (World War One, WWI). Adapted from the British King's Regulations and Orders, this is the legal document that set the stage for the development of Canadian Militia Units at the start fo the Great War. This is the first in a series of Great War reference documents to be posted to the Internet Archives as part of the work of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Study Group. archives.org
  
  Photographic Record and Souvenir of the Canadian Grenadier Guards Overseas Battalion "Eighty Seventh" - Col. F. S. Meighen O.C. This document is a rare photographic and text record of the 87th Infantry Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, as it was organized in 1916. The 87th Battalion served in the 11th Infantry Brigade of the 4th Canadian Division. Included in the document are photographs of all of the Staff Officers, Company Officers, NCOs, The Band, Machine Gun Section, Signalling, Pioneers and all 16 Platoons. archives.org
  
  War Establishment - Minister of Militia and Defence. The full title of this document is as follows: "Canadian Expeditionary Force Units - Instructions Governing Organization and Administration". It was published by authority of the Minister of Militia and Defence through the Ottawa Printing Bureau in 1916. This document was provided by Ken MacLean (RCAF/CF "Retired") from the collection at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Ontario Canada. This is a "must have" document for the avid researcher of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the Great War. archives.org

  21st Infantry Battalion, Nominal Rolls 1915 and 1918 - Canadian Expeditionary Force. This is one in a series of CEF Nominal Rolls made available by members of the "Canadian Expeditionary Force Study Group" (CEFSG) from their private collections. The CEFSG studies the Canadian Army in the Great War (1914-1919) and are making this information available to their world wide counter-parts that are also studying the CEF in the Great War. This particular document was provided by Al Lloyd and it contains the initial Nominal Roll of the 21st Infantry Battalion in May 1915 as well as the Nominal Roll on Armistice Day, November 11th 1918. This Nominal Roll identifies the Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Men of the 1st Reinforcing Draft of the Railway Construction Corps. Details are provided in the notes that follow. archives.org

  Historical record of the 76th Overseas Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1915-1916 - Canada. Canadian Army. Battalion, 76th. While the book basically covers the 76th's time in Canada and not in France, it is quite interesting to read about how and where they trained.  archives.org

• The Canadian Military Heritage Project This site is dedicated to presenting Canadian military history ~ the wars, uprisings and conflicts in which Canadians participated. Our goal is to preserve the records and memories of Canadians who served their country, and to ensure that their sacrifices are not forgotten. Provides historical background for each conflict, chronological timelines, statistics, battles, weaponry, uniforms & equipment, famous Canadians, biographies of soldiers, heroes and their stories, contributions of women, other countries who participated, muster rolls for conflicts before 1900, Letters Home (from soldiers at the front), music and poetry, guest authors' submissions, links to other online resources, and Research Libraries. These pages will be of interest to educators, students, genealogists, military historians and those who are interested in the stories of the participants themselves.

• King and Empire - Canada’s soldiers in the First World War. Includes Battlefields, Archives,  and a collectors forum

• World War I Collection (World War, 1914-1918) (National Library of Canada)

• Vimy Ridge Remembered Links to eyewitness accounts, original documents, archives, news stories, audio clips, etc.  Gary Graves -- CBC News Lt-Col Thain MacDowell: The private hell of a hero Vimy Ridge a watershed in Canada's history Battle of Vimy Ridge

• Canada Vimy 90th Anniversary Global News Special Coverage 90th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and Dedication of the newly restored Canadian National Vimy Memorial Veteran's Affairs Canada Website Vimy commander's medals donated to Canadian War Museum British commander Sir Julian Byng earned an important place in Canadian history when he led the Canadian Corps to victory in the famous First World War battle at Vimy Ridge almost 90 years ago. Now the medals he earned in that battle and others have found an important place at the Canadian War Museum. Byng's military honours were officially donated to the Canadian War Museum by collector Dale Murray. At a ceremony at the museum, Murray described the commander who later became Canada's governor general as a great leader considerate of the men who served under him. After the war, Byng was raised to the peerage, and became Viscount Byng of Vimy, a name he chose "in part, I'm sure ... in honour of the magnificent victory achieved by his Canadians," Murray added. The victory was considered a landmark achievement that distinguished Canada from Britain in the eyes of other nations.  "The medals represent an important chapter in the history of Canada," Murray said. During the famous four-day battle that began April 9, 1917, Canadian troops successfully took back from the Germans a strategic escarpment in northern France, where 150,000 French and British soldiers had died trying to achieve the same goal. More than 3,500 Canadian soldiers died and another 5,000 were wounded in the battle. Some of Byng's medals will be displayed as part of a museum program marking the 90th anniversary of Vimy Ridge. Byng served as Canada's governor general from 1921 to 1926. cbc.ca 2 Apr 07 CBC IN DEPTH: Vimy Ridge remembered Gilson to head honour guard at Vimy Ridge commemoration Launch of Commemorative Coin in Honour of the 90th Anniversary of the Battle of Viny Ridge Ceremony honours sacrifice, bravery at Vimy Ridge Students honour Vimy Ridge soldiers In the name of their fathers; Veterans honour Vimy Ridge Canadian First World War Soldier Buried with Full Military Honours Honour and glory

• History of the Battle of the Somme

• Canadian Veterans Recollect

• Courage Remembered: The World Wars Through Canadian Eyes

• Honouring a Nation (Vimy Ridge Tour)

• Jack Turner's War (Photographs of WWI taken by Jack Turner)

• Discovery makes hero's bravery shine anew When Blake Smith died in Hamilton nearly four decades ago, he didn't get so much as a death notice. Smith died poor and out of close contact with his family, a resident of Macassa Lodge for the last eight years of his life. The public trustee arranged for him to be buried at Mount Hamilton Cemetery. It was 1968 and few knew at the time that the man who had died in obscurity had been a genuine war hero -- a soldier who had fought with "gallantry most conspicuous" through almost all of the First World War. He earned the Distinguished Conduct Medal. Since 1901, 2,132 Canadians have earned the honour. The citation for his medal, which he received April 10, 1919 praised his "coolness and ability as a leader under heavy fire." His achievements might have remained unknown to post-war generations had it not been for some luck, some generosity and detective work and all by people who had never met him. Smith's medals had been out of his family's hands at least 20 years, having been sold as part of a box of miscellaneous items at a local yard sale or auction sometime in the early 1980s. A couple from Lynden paid $5 for the lot and held onto the medals until they read a newspaper story about Dave Thomson, a man who has made quite a bit more than a hobby of tracking loose medals from the Great War and putting them back in the hands of Canadian families or museums. Earlier this month, he heard from the couple asking if he could help them get Smith's medals into the proper hands. There were four medals in all, the DCM and three campaign medals. Thomson told the couple the DCM itself was worth at least $4,000, but that didn't change their wish to turn it over. The mounting and condition of the medals indicated Smith had worn them often. Thomson plans to give them to Dunnville's Royal Canadian Legion Branch 142, which lovingly maintains an impressive collection of medals donated by the families of service people who have died. hamiltonspectator.com 2 May 07

• Newfoundland and the Great War

• Newfoundland's Beaumont Hamel

• As a result of a generous donation by Walter and Ronald Gray, the Archives of Ontario recently acquired a series of World War One letters written from the battlefront. Visit the online exhibit, "The Archives of Ontario Remembers Our Canadian War Heroes" which includes digitized images, sound clips and samples from this new collection

• Art of the First World War Paintings from International Collections to Commemorate the 80th Anniversary of WWI

• Maple Leaf Legacy Project  (A Millennium Project in Remembrance of Canada's War Dead)

• Queen honours fallen soldiers (80th Anniversary of WWI ceremony in Paris) (Medals, photos and other WWI related resources)

• Medals of the First World War  The Western Front Museum

• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission – Debt of Honour Register - Provides personal and service details and places of commemoration for the 1.7 million members of the Commonwealth forces who died in the First or Second World Wars. (A record of some 60,000 civilian casualties of the Second World War is provided without details of burial location). The cemeteries and memorials where these names are commemorated, in perpetuity, are located in around 150 countries This database makes it possible to identify the exact location, by cemetery plot or memorial panel, where any given name is commemorated.

• War Museum abuzz over rare Vimy Ridge artifact Tim Cook, curator of the First World War exhibit at the new Canadian War Museum, displays the Norman Howard Pawley cross. Amazed officials at the Canadian War Museum have been handed a one-of-a-kind artifact from Vimy Ridge that poignantly captures the heroism and horror of the battle that marked Canada's coming of age. A dust-caked wooden cross, erected for a fallen Saskatchewan soldier when the guns at Vimy were barely cool, was pulled from the rafters of an Ontario farmhouse and will be displayed as the supreme symbol of Canadian sacrifice in the victorious Easter assault 87 years ago. Lieut. Norman Howard Pawley died on April 12, 1917, the final day of fighting at Vimy, during the successful Canadian surge to take a hill called "the Pimple." By then, the 28-year-old junior officer was already a bona fide hero, having earned a Military Cross two months earlier for leading the capture of a German machine gun crew. "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during a raid on the enemy's trenches," his citation read. "He led his party with great dash . . . ." canada.com 10 Apr 04

• Fort to honour famous First World War sniper When Henry Norwest fell to a German sniper on August 18, 1918, Canadian Major-General Arthur Currie ordered every available artillery gun to fire on enemy positions as a tribute to one of the British Empire’s top sharpshooters. More than eight decades later Norwest will finally be recognized in the town of his birth. According to Veteran’s Affairs Canada, Henry Louis Norwest was born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, of French-Cree ancestry. In his nearly three years of service with the 50th Canadian Infantry Battalion, the lance-corporal achieved a sniping record of 115 fatal shots. Norwest was awarded the Military Medal (MM) in 1917, for his actions during the battle of Vimy Ridge. The following year, he was awarded a bar to his Military Medal making him one of roughly 830 members of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces to be awarded this double honour. Fort Record 19 Mar 04

• War Hero Medals handed over to Canadina War Museum The wartime metals and artifacts of Canada’s most decorated Aboriginal soldier in the First World War, Francis Pegahmagabow, have been turned over to a new Canadian War Museum exhibit by his surviving family members. In addition to his numerous medals, a coveted Military Medal and two bars given for conspicuous acts of bravery, Mr. Pegahmagabow was hailed as an unsurpassed sharpshooter killing 378 enemy soldiers during his time abroad. Parry Sound North Star, Canada 12 Sep 03

• 'You just can't forget them' RCMP Constable Marc Searle noticed the gaps between the graves first. One day about a year ago, he went for a walk through a section of the Sunnyside Lawn Cemetery in South Surrey where veterans are buried. The plot is known as the Field of Honour, but as he paced along the markers reading the stories of the soldiers who had served Canada, he noticed some empty spaces. They turned out to be the unmarked graves of long-dead soldiers. "When I say they were unmarked, I mean there was nothing there. There was just grass," Constable Searle said. James Irving McMillan turned out to be a real challenge, because his name had been misspelled on his death certificate. "I convinced Chapel Hill funeral parlour to crack all the seals on their original records. And in there are handwritten notes by the funeral parlour director." That gave him the correct spelling and insight into a lonely death. "When he was buried, there was no one there at all. He was simply identified as being a 'fisherman.' " Using military records, he found out that the fisherman had, on April 9, 1917, twice crossed a bloodied patch of ground known as No Man's Land at Vimy Ridge. He was carrying messages to brigade commanders about the progress of the attack in a battle that helped define Canada. "He was awarded the Military Medal for gallantry and he was one of very few privates who was decorated during the war," Constable Searle said. "It was an emotional moment to realize that this war hero had lain for 40 years in an unmarked grave." Mr. McMillan, he said, was recruited in Calgary by the North-West Mounted Police into the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles. He signed up on Christmas Eve, 1901, served in the Boer War and after discharge in 1902, served with the South African Constabulary, which was made up mostly of ex-NWMP, in what was really Canada's first peacekeeping effort. In 1916, he joined the 87th Battalion, Canadian Grenadier Guards. He fought in the Battle of the Somme and then went on to Vimy Ridge. "You just can't forget them. Remembrance has to be more than a word. It's our job," Constable Searle said. theglobeandmail.com 27 Apr 06
  

• WW1 RCD DCM,MM Group - Ryan Gingras has been able to track  the medals awarded to Major Charles Olmstead, DCM, MM. He was the highest decorated NCO (Sgt at the time) in the Royal Canadian Dragoons ( RCD) in WW I. The regiment  knew  that only 1 DCM and 14 Military Medals had been awarded to unit members during the war, but didn't have any information on who had been awarded the DCM. Ryan  changed that, and working with the RCD's they are now updating their unit history, and in November of this year, Ryan will be handing over the medals to the RCDs in a formal parade. Read the complete story.

• Canada WWI veterans reject honour Plans in Canada to hold a state funeral to honour the country's last World War I veteran to die have been thrown into disarray. There are three such veterans alive in the country - all over 105 years old. Last November, the Canadian parliament unanimously passed a motion calling on the government to hold a state funeral for the last of these veterans to die. However, the veterans themselves have decided that they do not want to be given the honour. It all seemed to have been settled. Towards the end of last year Canada's parliament responded to a huge public petition for a state funeral to be held for the last of the country's World War I veterans. The parliamentary vote in favour of the idea seemed to decide the matter. But there is a snag. None of the surviving veterans wants a state funeral. The eldest, Lloyd Clemett, is 107. His niece and guardian, Merle Kaczanowski, says he just wants a simple funeral. Canadian government officials have acknowledged that all three surviving veterans have turned down the opportunity for a state funeral. But Rudyard Griffiths, who is the head of the Dominion Institute, the Canadian heritage organisation that mounted the original campaign for the event, warns that the government should not ignore the will of parliament. "If something is offered that is less than that (a state funeral), I think there will be some legitimate disappointment," said Mr Griffiths. But privately Canadian officials admit that they are being forced to look at other options, such as a national day of mourning. news.bbc.co.uk 3 Jan 07

• Leafs founder's medal for sale Hockey's most famous soldier was shot down, captured and injured by the enemy while fighting for Canada during both World Wars. Now, Conn Smythe's valour is for sale, says a man eager to "repatriate" a World War I medal awarded to the late founder of the Toronto Maple Leafs NHL club from an online auction house. Smythe's medal is described on the website as "historic and rare," with its original colourful ribbon intact. "C.F.Smythe" with his rank "2.Lieut." is inscribed on the decoration's rim with "The Great War For Civilization 1914-1919" etched on the back. Victory medals were awarded to 351,289 Canadians who served during the World War I. A gunner, Smythe was also awarded the Military Cross in April 1917. He transferred from artillery to the Royal Flying Corps in July of 1917, was shot down by German forces in October and spent 14 months in prisoner-of-war camps. In World War II, Smythe – a major in his 40s – served again, forming a "sportsmen's" anti-aircraft battery. During combat in France in 1944, he was badly injured by shrapnel. The medal is for sale with the opening bid at $2,000. The auction closes March 27. thestar.com 20 Mar 07 A victory in medal's return Conn Smythe's Victory Medal is coming home – but not without some mystery surrounding it. The World War I medal awarded to the late founder of the Toronto Maple Leafs NHL club was sold yesterday for $4,000 (U.S.) to two Ontario men who wanted it removed from an online auction house and who plan to donate it to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Paul Sanderson and Dave Thomson will receive the medal and documents verifying its authenticity Saturday in Toronto from the Montreal-based auctioneers. Sanderson, whose grandfather Herbert Sanderson helped build Maple Leaf Gardens during the Depression under Smythe's direction, paid for the item. However, questions have been raised about how the medal left the Smythe family and who has possessed it for nearly a century. The auction house, claimed on its website that letters from "the Canadian Armed Services attesting to Smythe's ownership and one from the original purchaser of the (medal) from the family will be included" in the sale. The auction company would not confirm to the Star who bought the medal. However, the war hero's son said it was never sold by the Smythes. Dr. Hugh Smythe, a former Leafs' team physician, said the medal went missing sometime after World War 1 and before World War II, in which his father also served. And while Hugh Smythe conceded the medal is "probably authentic," he wondered about differences between it and what he thinks may be an official duplicate he possesses as part of his father's medal collection from both World Wars. "We have all six of my father's medals, including the Military Cross; all have engravings on them and they came as a package from the ministry of defence at the time,'' said the arthritis research pioneer, whose father died in 1980. "To me, it's possible (the purchased medal) was an original he received in 1919 (and) it was lost." The medals are almost identical except for engraving details and oak leaves adorning the ribbon on the one in his possession, Hugh Smythe said. The newly purchased medal is engraved "C.F. Smythe" – his full name was Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe – and has him ranked as 2nd Lieutenant. But his son said the medal he has is simply "C. Smythe" with a lieutenant's ranking, recalling his dad claimed he was not promoted (though he became a major in World War II). As for his father's collection, Hugh Smythe said it will never be sold and will, one day, be on display. "Obviously, they belong in a museum and ... the obvious one is the Hockey Hall of Fame,'' he said. He added that the World War II survivors of the "sportsmen's" anti-aircraft battery – formed and overseen by his dad in England and France – are hoping part of vacant Maple Leaf Gardens might one day become home to their wartime memorabilia. Sanderson, a coin and stamp collector, says he's confident the medal is authentic and would consider the Smythe family's wishes if they wanted the medal returned. thestar.com 22 Mar 07

• The McCrae Medals: Reviving the Memory Details of how the medals were acquired, cleaned and put on display at McCrae House. CCI Newsletter No. 22 November 1998  Version Français

• WWI veteran turns up just in time for his medals A 15-year-old bugle boy who lied about his age to join the army in the first Great War has been honoured by the federal government after he was discovered living out his retirement years in an Oshawa nursing home. "I'm not nervous; I've been through two wars," 102-year-old Dwight Wilson quipped as son Paul, 69, helped him prepare for a medal presentation to receive the Queen's Jubilee Medal and the John McRae ("In Flanders Fields") medal, struck to mark the 80th anniversary, in 1997, of the end of World War I. Toronto Star 12 Dec 03

• Candian Expeditionary Force, 1914-1919 Official History of the Canadian Army in the First World War (1.5MB- PDF File format - DHH Website) By Colonel G.W.L. Nicholson, CD Army Historical Section Second Printing (corrected) May 1964 Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1964

•  

WWII

• Dunkirk hero Timbrell dies Rear Admiral (ret’d) Robert Timbrell speaks of his experiences in 1940 as a young captain at Dunkirk. He was the first Canadian decorated during WW II, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross. By the end of the war, Mr. Timbrell had been torpedoed and bombed and was one of only 26 sailors to survive the sinking of the HMCS Margaree. Mr. Timbrell went on to command several other ships, including the aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure. Perhaps his greatest contribution was realizing the navy needed helicopters and variable-depth sonar on its destroyers to track nuclear submarines. Mr. Timbrell was eventually promoted to the rank of rear admiral and served as the head of the navy before retiring in 1973. thechronicleherald.ca 16 Apr 06

• Soldier never talked about his war Excerpt from the citation for Don Maidens's Distinguished Conduct Medal: "On 11 April, 1945, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry made an assault crossing of the Ijasel River. . . "It was essential that the routes they were to take be cleared of the enemy. . "Maidens went forward alone, in daylight over the flat country, and for a total of no less than 1,000 yards under the fire from snipers and machine-guns to capture two machine-gun posts and a total of 12 prisoners . . . "In addition to almost single-handedly accounting for three machine-gun posts and 14 prisoners. . . Maidens made it possible for (the soldiers) to get on to their objectives . . . "Maidens was an inspiration not only to his platoon but to the whole company. The complete disregard he showed for his own safety, and his leadership under fire, contributed greatly to the success of both the operations described. "His courage was of the highest order and his actions in the face of the enemy completely fearless and in keeping with the finest traditions of the service."  canoe.ca 28 Oct 04

• More Eligible For Canadian Volunteer Service Medal The federal government has broadened the eligibility requirements for the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal or CVSM to include volunteer members of certain civilian groups that functioned closely with the armed forces or merchant navy under military-like conditions during WW II.(Dec 01) Vet objects to war medals given to civilians - Concern that the federal government has reduced the significance of the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal (CVSM) by broadening the criteria for eligibility to include volunteer members of some civilian groups - More   CVSM Order Mar 02

• The Fall of Hong Kong
(Canadian Involvement) (The Valour and Horror)

• List of Hong Kong Veterans (Still living in May 1988 - 361 Names) (Ref: Hansard)

• 6,100 Allied troops land at Dieppe (Veteran’s Affair – History of the Raid, Interviews with veterans, Links, etc.)

• The Dieppe Raid – Pilgrimage 2002 - History, Photos of Dieppe Vets wearing medals (Aug 02)  

• Canadian D-Day Memorial Wall (A listing of Canadian Sailors, Soldiers, and Airman who died while invading Normandy on June 6^th, 1944. Also includes un-armed Canadian POWs executed during the Normandy Campaign)

• D-Day memories of Jim Wilkins -
Jim Wilkins was with The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, Company B.

• In Desperate Battle: Normandy 1944 -
includes maps, stories, timeline, and more.