Fighting

During the First World War, young men were often pressured to enlist - and were grateful to have a certificate like this one, which proved that Thomas Robson had been willing to serve but had been rejected by the army.

The Second World War revealed an unexpectedly low level of physical fitness in Canadian men, leading military authorities to devote considerable effort to remedial action. Training brochures like this one were among the results of that effort.

During the First World War, young men were often pressured to enlist - and were grateful to have a certificate like this one, which proved that Thomas Robson had been willing to serve but had been rejected by the army.

During the First World War, news reached Canadian newspapers through wire services. This bulletin contained British and French official reports, and information gleaned from German sources.

An Edmonton radio station compiled this almanac of events of the Second World War, beginning with British leaders attending talks in Rome on 11 January 1939 and ending with changes to the butter ration on 14 December 1946.

One lesson of trench warfare was that "bombing" (or using hand grenades) was much more important in capturing and clearing enemy trenches than had been imagined before the war. As a result, training manuals like this one by James Ferris, who joined the 63rd Battalion in Edmonton in July 1915, were published as a way to pass on new tactical knowledge.

First World War veteran and later cabinet minister Brooke Claxton originally prepared these notes in the form of lectures for the McGill University Contingent of the Canadian Officers' Training Corps. They cover everything from courts martial to morale and efficiency.

Printed after the end of the Second World War in Europe, this issue covered demobilization policy, sports news, entertainment, and an exhortation to vote in the 1945 federal election.

Did Canadians really enlist in the First World War to help Belgium? The Hamilton Recruiting League obviously thought so, and used Belgium as the subject of one of its recruiting cards.

Written in 1939, this training pamphlet was distributed before the British or Canadian army had much experience with modern anti-tank warfare.