World War II
Christmas dinner in Champlain Barracks
To celebrate the holiday season in 1943, Number 26 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre in Orillia, Ontario, held a special dinner. This menu was saved by Trooper A.E. Stone.
Awaiting the end of the war
Even before the Second World War ended, the Canadian Council of Churches had prepared an order of service that could be used to celebrate the occasion, whenever it came.
Do what the warden tells you
Wartime offered considerable scope for tasteless humour - as this card, brought home from Britain by a Canadian soldier after the Second World War, affirms.
For your bank manager
To simplify the process of subscribing to the 4th Victory Loan, the federal government provided this template letter, which could be filled out and submitted to any bank.
Victoria welcomes its veterans
In preparation for the demobilization of Canadians in uniform after the Second World War, the city of Victoria established a Citizens Rehabilitation Council to help them with the practical problems of returning to civilian life.
While on leave in Brussels
Few Canadian soldiers had been to Brussels before the city was liberated in the fall of 1945; this card showed them how to find all of the facilities available to them when they visited the city while on leave.
Selective Service and the May Court Club
Ottawa's May Court Club is the oldest women's volunteer organization in Canada, established in 1898. During the Second World War, one of the club's meeting was devoted to a talk on the efficient utilization of human resources, through Selective Service.
Lessons in anti-tank warfare
Written in 1939, this training pamphlet was distributed before the British or Canadian army had much experience with modern anti-tank warfare.
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.
War industries in Manitoba
This government publication featured success stories of Manitoba manufacturing, including Winnipeg's MacDonald Brothers Aircraft Limited, which assembled Avro Anson twin-engined aircraft to be used in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
Games for POWs
Boredom was one of the greatest challenges facing Canadian prisoners of war in Germany during the Second World War, but charitable organization did what they could to send games and puzzles to the camps to help pass the time.
Come to Canada Corner
The Knights of Columbus operated a hospitality bureau in Paris for Canadians on leave. Staffed by English-speaking volunteers, "Canada Corner" could arrange sightseeing trips, golf games, theatre nights - one soldier even got to have dinner with a French countess.
The YMCA at war
Using a fictional soldier from Yourtown, Canada, this booklet offered a summary of the breadth of YMCA activities during the Second World War.
Cash payments for veterans
To address one of the most pressing demands of Great War veterans, the Canadian government during the Second World War passed the War Service Grants Act, which gave all veterans a lump sum cash payment based on their length and place of service, rank, and family size.
Loose lips sink ships
In this mini-poster, a Canadian seaman urges people to keep quiet - inadvertently revealing sensitive military information might lead to the sinking of his ship.
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.
The Red Cross Corps at work
This postcard, sold to raise funds for the Canadian Red Cross Society, illustrates the work of the Red Cross Corps on behalf of prisoners of war.
Birthday in the clink
This Second World War cartoon poked fun at a serious subject - the soldier who fell afoul of military discipline.
Buy Canadian
This decal, probably intended to be affixed in a store window, reminded consumers that buying Canadian goods supported local workers and helped shore up the currency at the same time.
An airman's keepsakes
John Bridgman of Roseland, Ontario, joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1943 and qualified as a bomb aimer at #9 Air Observer School in St Johns, Quebec. Amongst his wartime souvenirs are a certificate indicating that he had completed a tour of operations and aerial photographs taken on some of the bombing raids in which he participated.