Relaxing

"Side by side with Britain we will go"

Another in a long line of patriotic songs that featured maternalism as a theme, Miller's piece was sung by some of the most popular vocalists of the First World War era.

Rallying around the flag

This song was dedicated to the Canadian overseas contingents, and was published at a time when no one knew exactly how many contingents Canada would eventually send to battle.

Best Old Flag.pdf (1.84 MB)

A Canadian March Song

This very early patriotic song began with a stirring reference to bugle calls "from Niagara Falls to the coast of Halifax."

Soldier Lad.pdf (36.78 MB)

Boxing in wartime Britain

Canada's entrants in the competition, three men from the Royal Canadian Artillery, did not have great success at the 1940 meet in Aldershot, but the event likely provided a welcome diversion from the rigours of training.

Soldier songs

This sheet, probably distributed to soldiers through YMCA recreation huts in Britain and France, contained a mix of old favourites, parody songs, and wartime hits.

"Our Canada the best of all"

Dedicated to the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire, this song included a popular trick: the first letters of each line of the verses combined to spell "Briton" and "Canada."

Hats Off.pdf (34.34 MB)

"They come from the far dominions"

Imperial unity was the theme of this patriotic song, published near the beginning of the First World War. It also borrowed a line from the much more famous patriotic song "Rule Britannia."

Sport and war

No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, organized in Victoria, British Columbia, in June 1915, spent over a year in Greece, providing medical services in support of the Salonika campaign. In May 1916, officers organized a sports day to give doctors, nursing sisters, and staff a respite from their duties.

Army, Navy and Air Force

This lettercard, published early in the Second World War, gave users a thumbnail sketch of the three services and described Canada's Battle Flag, shown in the background.

Birthday in the clink

Second World War cartoons poked fun at serious subjects, such as military discipline, equipment problems, and the rules and regulations that governed military life.