Fighting

Conscription came to Canada in 1917 amidst great controversy. This leaflet was part of the government's effort to explain why it was necessary and how it would work.

Caleb Harrison of Forest Hill, New Brunswick, was conscripted under the Military Service Act in July 1918. These documents gave him leave from Camp Sussex on compassionate grounds in September 1918 , and formalized his discharge in January 1919.

The National Resources Mobilization Act of 1940 called up men for examination for possible military service; this New Brunswicker was found medically unfit.

When men of the King William Lodge joined the 105th Regiment, their fellow lodge members gave them each a pocket bible and their best wishes for a safe return at war's end.

Patricia Bay was the wartime home of the Royal Air Force's 32 Operational Training Unit, which trained airmen from Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, an RCAF training unit, and a seaplane base. "The Patrician" was the publication of the RAF community.

Compiled in 1942, this manual covered everything from splinting a broken limb to recognizing and dealing with gas attacks.

During the Second World War, Carberry, Manitoba, hosted a Service Flying Training School of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. This book was published to introduce incoming students to the town and its people, and to recognize their contribution to the Allied war effort.

For many new soldiers, the introduction to army life included healthy doses of bending, stretching, and other exercises laid out in this First World War manual.

Many young men attempted to evade conscription during the First World War, so the military authorities provided certificates to men who had observed the law and properly registered with the government, as proof against harassment by the police of potential employers.

Novelist Arnold Bennett was the first major writer to be invited to tour the Western Front during the First World War; his account was published in late 1915. This postcard invited book-buyers to experience "all the picturesque, moving figures of the front."