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Tannes Hesje (Primary Source)
Memory Project

Tannes Hesje (Primary Source)

Born in Norway, Mr. Hesje immigrated to Canada in 1928. He enlisted with the Saskatoon Light Infantry in 1942. While travelling over to England, the convoy he was in was attacked by German aircraft. He landed in Italy and worked in an officers’ mess and as a batman. The regiment was then transferred to northwest Europe, and was in the Netherlands on VE Day.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Ted Adye (Primary Source)
Memory Project

Ted Adye (Primary Source)

Ted Adye served with 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (2 PPCLI), the first army unit to see action in the Korean War. He recalls an infamous incident in which his unit came across American soldiers killed during their sleep in February 1951 and also the Battle of Kap’yong in April 1951, at which 2 PPCLI helped push back a Chinese assault. Mr. Adye’s service in Korea ended when he was injured during an enemy attack that followed the heavy shelling of 2 PPCLI’s positions from 10-13 October 1951.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Content warning: This article contains content which some may find offensive or disturbing.

William Roy Hindle (Primary Source)
Memory Project

William Roy Hindle (Primary Source)

William Roy Hindle  served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. Towards the end of the war he joined the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Tadeusz "Tad Szablewski" (Primary Source)
Memory Project

Tadeusz "Tad Szablewski" (Primary Source)

Tad Szablewski was a member of the Polish Air Force during the Second World War.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Content warning: This article contains content which some may find offensive or disturbing.


William Murray (Primary Source)
Memory Project

William Murray (Primary Source)

William Murray served with the British 54 Field Park Squadron during the Korean War.


Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Ted Shuter (Primary Source)
Memory Project

Ted Shuter (Primary Source)

Ted Shuter joined the Canadian Army in 1935 and served until 1966. He recounted his experience during the Second World War. 

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Yvonne Jukes (Primary Source)
Memory Project

Yvonne Jukes (Primary Source)

Yvonne Jukes served with the Women's Division of the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. She was posted overseas in Northern England with the Number 6 Bomber Group.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Zona Davidson (neé West) (Primary Source)
Memory Project

Zona Davidson (neé West) (Primary Source)

Zona Davidson served in The Royal Canadian Air Force Central Band during the Second World War.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Conscription in Canada
Article

Conscription in Canada

Conscription is the compulsory enlistment or “call up” of citizens for military service. It is sometimes known as “the draft.” The federal government enacted conscription in both the First World War and the Second World War. Both instances created sharp divisions between English Canadians, who tended to support the practice, and French Canadians, who generally did not. Canada does not currently have mandatory military service. The Canadian Armed Forces are voluntary services.

12e Régiment blindé du Canada
Article

12e Régiment blindé du Canada

12e Régiment blindé du Canada (12e RBC) is the junior of three regular armoured regiments in the Canadian Army. The regiment was established in 1871 as a militia infantry battalion and was converted to an armoured regiment in 1936. In 1968, the Regular Force regiment was formed, designated 12e RBC. The regiment or detached squadrons have served in peace operations and in Afghanistan. 12e RBC has been based at CFB Valcartier, Quebec, since 1968 and is part of 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, 2nd Canadian Division.

Jules Blais (Primary Source)
Article

Jules Blais (Primary Source)

"We sank a German submarine, U-877."

See below for Mr. Blais' entire testimony.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Korean War
Article

Korean War

The Korean War began 25 June 1950, when North Korean armed forces invaded South Korea. The war’s combat phase lasted until an armistice was signed 27 July 1953. As part of a United Nations (UN) force consisting of 16 countries, 26,791 Canadian military personnel served in the Korean War, during both the combat phase and as peacekeepers afterward. The last Canadian soldiers left Korea in 1957. After the two world wars, Korea remains Canada’s third-bloodiest overseas conflict, taking the lives of 516 Canadians and wounding more than 1,000. In total, an estimated three million people died during the war. More than half were civilians. The two Koreas remain technically at war today.

Kangaroo APCs (Armoured Personnel Carriers)
Article

Kangaroo APCs (Armoured Personnel Carriers)

“Kangaroo” is the nickname given to a series of military transport vehicles (APCs) designed by the Canadian army in 1944, during the Battle of Normandy. (See Second World War.) It was a modified version of existing armoured vehicles such as the M7 (Priest) self-propelled gun, the Ram tank and the Sherman tank. Major components of these vehicles, such as their turret, were removed, thus allowing them to be used to transport infantry soldiers, safe from enemy fire.

Royal Canadian Legion
Article

Royal Canadian Legion

The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit, national organization that serves Canadian war veterans and their families and lobbies government on their behalf. It is best known for selling poppies every fall and organizing Remembrance Day ceremonies across the country. In recent decades, the Legion has struggled with declining membership, due in large part to the loss of Second World War and Korean War veterans.

Canadian Arctic Sovereignty
Article

Canadian Arctic Sovereignty

Arctic sovereignty is a key part of Canada’s history and future. The country has 162,000 km of Arctic coastline. Forty per cent of Canada’s landmass is in its three northern territories. Sovereignty over the area has become a national priority for Canadian governments in the 21st century. There has been growing international interest in the Arctic due to resource development, climate change, control of the Northwest Passage and access to transportation routes. As Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in 2008, “The geopolitical importance of the Arctic and Canada’s interests in it have never been greater.”