Table of Contents
- OUR MILITARY HERITAGE
CANADA’S ARMED FORCES BEFORE 1914
CANADA’S FORCES IN THE 20TH CENTURY
CANADA’S MERCHANT NAVY
REMEMBRANCE DAY
THE NATIONAL WAR MEMORIAL
TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER
THE ACT OF REMEMBRANCE
THE CLOSING RITUAL - SIGNIFICANT DATES IN CANADA’S MILITARY HISTORY
- STATISTICS
Number of Canadians in Service
Canadian Casualties
Canadians Wounded
Canadian Prisoners of War
Statistics for the Colony of Newfoundland prior to 1949
Canadian Merchant Navy Statistics
Canadian Peacekeepers
World War II Service Intake by Province and Sex
Canadians on NATO duty - CANADA’S VICTORIA CROSS RECIPIENTS
Crimean War
Relief of Lucknow
Indian Mutiny
Burma
Boer War
World War I
World War II
OUR MILITARY HERITAGE
CANADA’S ARMED FORCES BEFORE 1914
- By 1665 virtually every parish in what was known as “the new world” could muster some form of militia for local protection. Militias were military forces raised from the civilian population and were often used to supplement regular army or standing military units. In 1759 six of these units of battalion size took part in the defence of Quebec.
- In the War of 1812 the brunt of the fighting along the American frontier was borne by British permanent forces and “Fencible” units (colonial volunteers in British Army units who could not be obliged to fight outside their home provinces unless they volunteered for that as well). But the militia was employed on active service in 1837 during the so called “Canadian Rebellions”. They were also employed in 1866 and 1867 during the “Fenian Raids” and in 1870 against the first Metis uprisings. The need for troops during the Fenian Raids caused the reactivation and reorganization of Canada(s military forces under Georges Etienne Carter’s “First Dominion Militia Bill” of 1868.
- By 1876 the federal government had started work on the Royal Military College of Canada. In 1885 some 5,000 members of the militia, the permanent force and the Northwest Mounted Police saw service during the Northwest Rebellion. In the same year Canada contributed military contingents to Lord Wolsely’s Nile Expedition.
- From 1899 to 1902 Canada provided 7,369 men for service in the South African (Boer) War of which 224 were killed. By 1910 a Department of the Navy had been formed and two ships purchased, the Niobe and the Rainbow, and the Royal Canadian Navy came into being on 4 May 1910.
CANADA’S FORCES IN THE 20TH CENTURY
- By 1914 Canada was populated by 7.5 million people and had a militia of some 57,000 members. But within three weeks of the outbreak of World War 1 more than 45,000 people had volunteered for military service. The first 30,000 Canadian troops bound for the war set sail from Gaspe, Quebec for England on 3 and 4 October, 1914, aboard 33 ships. The “Great War”, as it was dubbed, lasted just over four years and is generally seen by historians as the period when Canada came of age as a nation and began to emerge as a significant power on the world stage.
- While army and navy forces played a substantial role in World War 1, the newly formed flying corps used at the time was part of the army. It was to become the Royal Canadian Air Force and was formed as such on 1 April, 1924.
- World War II commenced in September 1939 and by its end some six years later 237,000 men and women would have served in Northwest Europe and 97,500 in Italy. There were also 1,975 Canadians stationed in Hong Kong early in the war with Japan. After a short fight with the Japanese, Hong Kong fell in December 1941 and 557 of the troops were either killed or died in prisoner of war camps where those not killed in the fighting were sent. Those who survived stayed in these camps for the remainder of the war under horrific conditions.
- Canada’s support to the Korean War under the United Nations entailed 20,000 army personnel, three Royal Canadian Navy destroyers and 426 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force which supplied air transport resources.
- Canada’s military forces “unified” under the Canadian Forces Reorganization Bill of 1 February, 1968. All three forces adopted a single colour green uniform until 1988 when traditional service uniforms came back into being. The forces, which had become commands under this unified system, also returned to being called the army, navy and air force but the unification of common systems and services remains in place.
- Peacekeeping has dominated Canadian military operations since the Suez Crisis of 1956. Canada has participated in some form or other in almost all United Nations peacekeeping missions since that time.
- In the 1990’s Canada participated in the Gulf War, defeating Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait. In 2001 it joined with its NATO allies in conducting the (War on Terrorism) precipitated by terrorist attacks on the United States.
CANADA’S MERCHANT NAVY
- During World War I Canadian merchant seaman served aboard ships that came under enemy attack during voyages on the high seas. But at the outbreak of World War II there were only 37 Canadian vessels registered for foreign voyages and nearly half that number were lost to enemy attacks early in the war. More than 1,400 Canadian merchant seamen served on these ships. In 1941 an Order in Council called for the establishment of Merchant Seaman Manning Pools. The order also created training schools and facilities as required and encouraged the assistance and coordination of the extension of facilities in Canadian ports for the welfare of these seamen.
- The Pools were established in Halifax (September 1941), Montreal (January 1942), Vancouver (May 1942), and Saint John (July 1942). Eventually, Canada had the largest merchant fleet in the history of the Dominions with 180 ocean-going cargo vessels and 14,000 skilled seamen of all ranks. The Pools provided for the maintenance of a reserve of qualified personnel and offered seamen continuous pay and a home between voyages, provided they agreed to accept assignment to Canadian foreign-going ships.
REMEMBRANCE DAY
- After insistent representation from the then Canadian Legion of the British Empire Services League, the federal government amended the Armistice Day Act in 1931 to ensure that 11 November would be set aside as a day distinct and apart from any other observance. It would be upon this day, and this day only, that the nation would pay special tribute to those “who gave their lives that freedom might prevail”. In 1970 “The Holidays Act” was passed by Parliament which included, amongst others, Remembrance Day.
THE NATIONAL WAR MEMORIAL
- Vernon Marsh of Yorkshire, England won the competition launched in 1925 for the design of a National War Memorial. There were 122 entries considered and Mr. Marsh was authorized to proceed after the submission of a model. The components of the memorial as it stands today were conceived and constructed in a garden in Kent. Mr. Marsh, six brothers and one sister produced the structure over a ten-year period. Amazingly no member of this farming family had any training in art or sculpture.
- Mr. Marsh died in 1930 and his sister and brothers completed the project in 1932. First shown at Hyde Park in London to great public acclaim, it was slightly modified and delivered to Canada in June 1937. For its voyage it was separated into components that filled 35 containers.
- The memorial is a granite arch with huge bronze figures of the Victory and Liberty at the top. Marching through the arch are 22 figures representing all branches of the service that existed during World War I. Upon the figures’ faces is the look of hope, and behind them is a symbolic unlimbered cannon.
- The National War Memorial was unveiled by His Majesty George VI in May 1939 in front of a crowd of 100,000 people. Since then the Memorial has been the site of Canada’s annual National Remembrance Day Service, with the exception of the years when construction around the site made it impossible. In those few years the ceremony has been held on Parliament Hill, just as it was prior to 1939.
TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER
- On 28 May 2000, The Unknown Soldier was laid to rest in his Tomb at the foot of the National War Memorial. This project was initiated and managed by the Legion.
THE ACT OF REMEMBRANCE
- The Legion Act of Remembrance, now recited at memorial services around the world, is actually part of a poem. It was extracted to become the act because of its poignant wording. The work is from English poet Laurence Binyon’s book “Poems for the Fallen”. Binyon (1869-1943) wrote:
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.
REFRAIN
We will remember them.
THE CLOSING RITUAL
- At the end of formal Legion gatherings there is a closing ritual used. The words used are also from a poem which became a hymn as well. “Recessional” was written by the esteemed Rudyard Kipling. A verse of the poem ends:
Lord God of Hosts,
Be with us yet,
Lest We Forget – Lest we forget.
SIGNIFICANT DATES IN CANADA’S MILITARY HISTORY
(by month)
16 January 1991 Gulf War begins
01 February 1968 Canadian military forces unify
28 February 1991 Gulf War ends
25 March 1885 North-West Campaign
02 April 1949 NATO Accord signed
09 April 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge
17 April 1915 Second Battle of Ypres begins (Second of three)
17 April 1945 Last Canadian ship lost in WW II
20 April 1915 Gallipoli (Royal Newfoundland Regiment)
29 April 1991 Gulf War official cease-fire
03 May 1915 Second Battle of Ypres ends (Second of three)
May 1943 Battle of the Atlantic (31 U-boats sunk)
08 May 1945 Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day)
12 May 1958 NORAD created
31 May 1902 South African (Boer) War ends
06 June 1944 Normandy Invasion (D-Day)
10 June 1940 Canada declares war with Italy
23 June 1945 United Nations created
25 June 1950 Korean War begins
01 July 1916 Battle of the Somme begins
01 July 1916 Battle of Beaumont Hamel
(Royal Newfoundland Regiment)
10 July 1940 Battle of Britain begins
10 July 1943 Invasion of Sicily
27 July 1953 Korean War Ends
31 July 1917 Battle of Passchendaele begins
(also called Third Battle of Ypres)
04 August 1914 World War I begins
07 August 1950 Canada announces entry into Korean War
15 August 1945 Victory Over Japan Day (V-J Day)
19 August 1942 Dieppe Raid
02 September 1945 World War II ends
03 September 1943 Invasion of Mainland Italy
08 September 1993 Battle of the Medak Pocket Croatia
10 September 1939 Canada declares war on Germany
11 October 1899 South African (Boer) War begins
31 October 1940 Battle of Britain over
31 October 1914 First Battle of Ypres begins (First of three)
11 November 1918 Armistice Day – World War I ends
12 November 1917 Battle of Passchendaele ends
(also called Third Battle of Ypres)
17 November 1914 First Battle of Ypres ends (First of three)
30 November 1916 Battle of the Somme ends
06 December 1917 Halifax Explosion
10 December 1988 Nobel Prize for Peace awarded to peacekeepers
20 December 1915 Evacuation of Gallipoli
(Royal Newfoundland Regiment)
25 December 1941 Fall of Hong Kong
STATISTICS
Number of Canadians in Service
South Africa (1899-1902) approximately 7,000
World War 1 (1914-1918) 628,736 (includes 4,518 women)
World War 11 (1939-1945) 1,081,865 (includes 49,963 women)
Korean War (1950-1953) 26,791
Gulf War (1991) 4,074 (includes 237 women)
Canadian Casualties
South Africa (1899-1902) 267 dead
World War 1 (1914-1918) 66,573 dead
World War 11 (1939-1945) 44,927 dead (includes 73 women)
Korean War (1950-1953) 516 dead
Gulf War (1991) 0 combat casualties
Canadians Wounded
South Africa (1899-1902) no record available
World War 1 (1914-1918) 138,166
World War 11 (1939-1945) 53,145 (includes 19 women)
Korean War (1950-1953) 1,558
Gulf War (1991) 0 combat wounded
Canadian Prisoners of War
South Africa (1899-1902) no record available
World War 1 (1914-1918) 2,818
World War 11 (1939-1945) 8,271
Korean War (1950-1953) 33
Gulf War (1991) 0
Statistics for the Colony of Newfoundland prior to 1949
World War 1 (1914-1918)
16,922 served
1,593 died
wounded unknown
180 Pows
World War 11 (1939-1945)
19,460 served
704 died
wounded unknown
POWs unknown
Canadian Merchant Navy Statistics
1,400 served on the original 37 Canadian ships registered at the start of World War I
14, 000 served on registered ships during World War II
175 died by enemy action in World War I
1,146 died by enemy action in World War II
1,059 names on the Halifax Monument (place of burial unknown)
Canadian Peacekeepers
More than 125,000 have served on missions since 1948
More than 115 have died while on missions
World War II Service Intake by Province and Sex
P.E.I. 9,309
Que. 176,441
Sask/NWT 80,605
N.S. 59,355
Ont. 398,808
Alta. 77,703
N.B. 45,137
Man. 76,444
B.C./Yuk. 90,976
Outside of Canada Volunteers 17,124
Males 1,031,902
Females 49,963
TOTAL 1,081,865
Canadians on NATO duty
It is estimated that more than 136,000 Canadians served on the sea, on land and in the air with NATO forces from 1952 to 1994. Of these more than 780 died while on duty during this 42 year period.
CANADA’S VICTORIA CROSS RECIPIENTS
Crimean War
Lt. Alexander Robert Dunn, 25 October, 1854
Relief of Lucknow
Able Seaman William Hall, 16 November, 1857
Indian Mutiny
Surgeon Herbert Taylor Reade, 14 September, 1857
Burma
Surgeon Campbell Millis Douglas, 7 May, 1867
Boer War
Sgt Arthur Herbert Lindsey Richardson, 5 July, 1900
Lt. Hampden Zane Churchill Cockburn, 7 November, 1900
Sgt. Edward James Gibson Holland, 7 November, 1900
Lt. Richard Ernest William Turner, 7 November, 1900
World War I
LCpI. Michael O’Leary, 1 February 1915
(Not recognized as a Canadian VC in some circles as he only lived in Canada for three years while serving with the RNWMP)
Capt. Francis Alexander Caron Scrimger, 22 April, 1915
LCpl. Frederick Fisher, 23 April, 1915
C.S.M. Frederick William Hall, 24 April 1915
Lt. Edward Donald Bellew, 24 April, 1915
Lt. Frederick William Campbell, 15 June, 1915
Lt. Thomas Orde Lawder Wilkinson, 5 July, 1916
A/Cpl. Leo Clarke, 9 September, 1916
Pte. John Chipman Kerr, 16 September, 1916
Piper James Cleland Richardson, 8 October, 1916
Lt. Frederick Maurice Watson Harvey, 27 March, 1917
Maj. Thain Wendell MacDowell, 9 April, 1917
Pte. William Johnstone Milne, 9 April, 1917
LSgt. Ellis Wellwood Sifton, 9 April, 1917
Pte. John George Pattison, 10 April, 1917
Lt. Robert Grierson Combe, 3 May, 1917
Capt. William Avery Bishop, 2 June, 1917
Pte. Michael James O’Rourke, 15 August 1917
Pte. Harry Brown, 16 August, 1917
Sgt. Frederick Hobson, 18 August, 1917
Maj. Okill Massey Learmonth, 18 August, 1917
C.S.M. Robert Hanna, 21 August, 1917
Cpl. Filip Konowal, 21 August, 1917
Lt.-Col. Philip Eric Bent, 10 October, 1917
Pte. Thomas William Holmes, 26 October, 1917
Lt. Robert Shankland, 26 October, 1917
Capt. Christopher Patrick John O’Kelly, 26 October, 1917
Pte. Cecil John Kinross, 29 October, 1917
Sgt. George Harry Mullin, 30 October, 1917
Lt. Hugh MacKenzie, 30 October, 1917
Maj. George Randolph Pearkes, 30 October, 1917
Cpl. Colin Fraser Barron, 6 November, 1917
Pte. James Peter Robertson, 6 November, 1917
Lt. Harcus Strachan, 20 November, 1917
2Lt. Edmund De Wind, 21 March, 1918
Lt. Alan Arnett McLeod, 27 March, 1918
Lt. Gordon Muriel Flowerdew, 30 March, 1918
Lt. George Burdon McKean, 27/28 April, 1918
Lt. Rowland Richard Louis Bourke, 10 May, 1918
Cpl. Joseph Kaeble, 8 June, 1918
Pte. John Bernard Croak, 8 August, 1918
Cpl. Herman James Good, 8 August, 1918
Lt. Jean Brillant, 8 August, 1918
Cpl. Harry Garnet Bedford Miner, 8 August, 1918
Cpl. Alexander Picton Brereton, 9 August, 1918
Cpl. Frederick George Coppins, 9 August 1918
Lt. James Edward Tait, 9 August, 1918
Sgt. Raphael Louis Zengel, 9 August, 1918
Pte. Thomas Dinesen, 12 August, 1918
Sgt. Robert Spall, 12 August, 1918
Lt. Charles Smith Rutherford, 26 August, 1918
Lt.-Col. William Hew Clark-Kennedy, 27 August, 1918
Pte. Claude Joseph Patrick Nunney, 1 September, 1918
Sgt. Arthur George Knight, 2 September, 1918
LCpl. William Henry Metcalf, 2 September, 1918
Col. Cyrus Wesley Peck, 2 September, 1918
Capt. Bellenden Seymour Hutcheson, 2 September, 1918
Cpl. Walter Leigh Rayfield, 2 September, 1918
Pte. John Francis Young, 2 September, 1918
Lt. Samuel Lewis Honey, 27 September, 1918
Lt. George Fraser Kerr, 27 September, 1918
Lt. Graham Thomson Lyall, 27 September, 1918
Lt. Milton Fowler Gregg, 28 September, 1918
Capt. John MacGregor, 29 September, 1918
Sgt. William Merrifield, 1 October, 1918
Capt. Coulson Norman Mitchell, 8 October, 1918
Lt. Wallace Lloyd Algie, 11 October, 1918
Pte. Thomas Ricketts, 14 October, 1918
Maj. William George Barker, 27 October, 1918
Sgt. Hugh Cairns, 1 November, 1918
World War II
C.S.M. John Robert Osborne, December 19, 1941
Lt.-Col. Charles Cecil Ingersoll Merritt, August 19, 1942
The Reverend (Hon. Capt.) John Weir Foote, August 19, 1942
Capt. (RCN) Frederick Thornton Peters, November 8, 1942
Capt. Paul Triquet, December 14, 1943
Maj. Charles Ferguson Hoey, February 16, 1944
Maj. John Keefer Mahony, May 24, 1944
Plt. Offr. Andrew Charles Mynarski, June 12, 1944
Flt. Lt. David Ernest Hornell, June 25, 1944
Sqn. Ldr. Ian Willoughby Bazalgette, August 4, 1944
Maj. David Vivian Currie, August 18-20, 1944
Pte. Ernest Alvia Smith, October 21-22, 1944
Sgt. Aubrey Cosens, February 25-26, 1945
Maj. Frederick Albert Tilston, March 1, 1945
Cpl. Frederick George Topham, March 24, 1945
Lieut. (RCNVR) Robert Hampton Gray, August 9, 1945
