Relaxing

Perhaps the most successful of Canada's early war songs, Manley's lyrics paid tribute to all Allied soldiers but had special praise for Johnny Canuck.

Another piece sung by Mildred Manley, "Canada's greatest child vocalist," this was a typical patriotic song that contained only a hint of the reality of war.

Only the illustration of the nurse set this composition, billed as "one of the biggest Hits on the market," apart as a war song.

This unidentified gunner could have been spending his fourth Christmas away from his family, and might have had another three Christmases apart still to endure.

According to this song, khaki (the colour of Canadian soldiers' uniforms) was the most stylish colour in the fashion season of 1915.

Air letters such as this one were distributed to servicemen and women in Britain, and were given priority in cargo space. Each person was allowed to send four air letters per month.

The composer dedicated this piece to his "life long chum" Frederic Langstone, who joined the 5th Battery, Canadian Field Artillery at the beginning of the war. A graduate of Harbord Collegiate Institute in Toronto, Langstone was killed in action in April 1918.

This Christmas greeting, sent by a member of the Royal Canadian Dragoons serving in Italy, was sent by V-Mail, a system of microfilming letters so they took up less shipping space.

Dennis Bryan was a mechanic in Medford, Massachusetts, who came to Canada to enlist in the Canadian Field Artillery in May 1917. A month later, he wrote this song, to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," in honour of the camp at Petawawa, Ontario. Bryan survived the First World War, but his son Roland was killed at Dieppe during the Second World War.

Number 4 ITS of the British Commonwealth Training Pan was located at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.