Juno Beach and Beyond

For centuries, countries have relied on their non-commissioned officer (NCO) corps to form the backbone of their armed forces. The Canadian Army was no different in the Second World War. As it mobilized from fewer than 56,000 regular and part-time soldiers to almost a half-million men and women, it needed to grow an effective NCO...

Faced with the global environmental disaster that asserts itself a little more each day and that threatens peace in the world, we began asking ourselves some questions: What have we done with the peace obtained by the Allied Forces in Europe in 1944-1945? What are we going to do with it in the future? As...

August 2022 will mark 80 years since the Dieppe Raid – Operation Jubilee. In nine hours, a force of nearly 5,000 Canadians suffered over 800 killed, with two-thirds of the force dead, wounded, or captured. Canada’s darkest moment of the Second World War remains shrouded in controversy, mystery, and tragedy. For decades, the disaster dominated...

Today’s episode is a little different. Instead of a guest interview, we are pleased to share stories about Canadians who served during the world wars. This is a new feature of the podcast and we hope to bring it to you regularly. Today’s stories take us from the forests of France behind the trenches in...

In fall 1941, the Canadian government accepted a request to reinforce the British garrison at Hong Kong. Canada sent two infantry battalions, the Royal Rifles of Canada and the Winnipeg Grenadiers, a brigade headquarters, and two nurses from the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps. “C” Force, as they were known, arrived in Hong Kong on...

Approximately 27,000 Canadian soldiers and airmen killed during the First World War, the Second World War, or the Korean War have no known graves. Some 8,000 went missing during the Second World War.  A couple of times each year, the Canadian Armed Forces will announce that the Casualty Identification Program has identified the remains of...

The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) was easily one of Canada’s top contributions to victory in the Second World War. Part of the wider Empire Air Training Plan, in Canada, the BCATP laid the foundations for the training of over 131,500 aircrew (nearly 73,000 with the RCAF) and 80,000 ground crew between October 1940...

In June 1940, France fell to Nazi control and preparations began for the Battle of Britain. The Canadian government deployed soldiers overseas – to Iceland! The Canadian authorities labelled these troops “Z” Force. Eventually, three Canadian battalions served in Iceland under the leadership of Brigadier Lionel F. Page. These were the Royal Regiment of Canada,...

Laden with two 500-pound bombs and adorned with black and white invasion stripes, a model of Harry Hardy’s Hawker Typhoon IB “Pulverizer II” hangs proudly in the “Road to Victory” room at the Juno Beach Centre in Courseulles-sur-Mer, France. There is a certain fierceness in its profile, especially looking up into the four-bladed propeller, four...

Order a copy of Seven Days in Hell: Canada’s Battle for Normandy and the Rise of the Black Watch Snipers by David O’Keefe through our online shop and receive a 15% discount using the code BLACKWATCH at checkout. Offer valid until August 31, 2021.  Three miles or so south of Caen the present-day tourist, driving...