History Browser

As World War II war drew to a close, members of all the armed forces of the Allies wanted nothing so much as to shed their uniforms, and fast. But there was not enough shipping available to bring Allied troops from all over the world as quickly as they wished.

Photographs of Salvation Army head-dress and uniforms worn during the Second World War.

The Battle of the Atlantic was the struggle for control of the sea routes between the Americas and Europe and Africa. German forces attempted to break Britain’s vital supply link from the United States and Canada. During this six year conflict both sides suffered losses of personnel and materials.

Stories of the contributions of the industrial centre of Hamilton to the war effort, both through military might and industry, make up a large part of the Spectator clippings in this collection.

On 6 June 1944, Allied forces invaded Western Europe along an 80-kilometre front in Normandy, France. Of the nearly 150,000 Allied troops who landed or parachuted into the invasion area on D-Day, 14,000 were Canadians.

The Royal Canadian Navy grew rapidly during the Second World War. The roles it played in military actions ranged from acting as an escort force for merchant ships to fighting German submarines and landing on the coast of German-occupied France as part of major operations. Some of the experiences of the Canadian Navy were recorded in newspapers of the time.

Almost 9,000 members of Canada’s armed forces became prisoners of the enemy during World War II, as well as several hundred Canadian civilians. Undernourishment and boredom were the prisoners' great enemies. There were worries at home about prisoners in the deteriorating conditions of 1945, but nearly all were liberated by the advancing Allied armies, including the Russian Red Army, or freed themselves when the enemy surrendered.

By 1942, fearing an Allied invasion in the west while embroiled in war with the Soviet Union in the east, Hitler endeavoured to create the "Atlantic Wall", or "Fortress Europe", by encrusting the Atlantic seacoast with concrete and steel defences. This article describes these German fortifications and how the First Canadian Army participated in capturing these defensive positions. Includes reading list.

Strathcona's Horse developed its own variant of a high leather boot with a sole that was intended for walking, and a laced instep that provided the wearer with greater flexibility and ease of movement for its service in South Africa. The Strathconas issued these boots to all members of the regiment, and not just to the officers.

A bibliography of works written between 1920 and 1997 pertaining to the Salvation Army's work with the Canadian military.