Relaxing

The decision of the Royal Family to remain in London in spite of the German bombing offensive against Britain was enormously popular throughout the Allied world. This song, introduced to Canada by The Happy Gang, included a poem by Edna Jaques in honour of Queen Elizabeth.

This patriotic marching song featured an advertisement from General Motors of Canada which highlighted its manufacture of trucks for the war effort.

The lyrics make no direct reference to the Battle of Britain that was fought in the summer and fall of 1940, but the image of the jaunty pilot would have reminded people of The Few, the small group of Allied fighter pilots who defended Britain against German air attacks.

Dedicated to "the Brave Boys of our Fighting Forces," Bussell's song was one of many that looked forward to the return of Canada's men in uniform.

Part patriotic anthem, part hymn, Webster's work reflected enormous optimism at a time when Canada had just entered its second world war in a generation.

This popular song, by the composers of "There'll Always Be An England," put the Second World War Royal Navy in the context of great naval heroes of the past: Drake, Nelson, Beatty, and Fisher.

The most famous of Canada's First World War concert parties, the Dumbells were a favourite with military audiences during the war, and civilian audiences after. Their 1918 show featured a sketch called Vimyology, which looked back on the war from the year 2017. Its patron was Major-General Louis Lipsett, who would be killed in action in October 1918.

This booklet, printed on board the ship, would not have been out of place on any peacetime sailing. However, the men and women of the 86th Machine Gun Battalion, the 224th Forestry Battalion, No. 8 Stationary Hospital, and the 4th Division Ammunition Sub-Park were going to war, not on vacation.

In June 1918, the 85th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, held a gala dinner and musical evening while the unit was out of the front lines. The unit would spend most of the rest of the war in action.

The Canadian hospital at Granville, which provided orthopedic treatment to the wounded, remained in operation until September 1919, long after most Canadian soldiers had returned home.