Relaxing

This postcard was manufactured in England, probably not long before the 135th Battalion, raised in and around London, Ontario, was broken up for reinforcements.

This image of a couple kissing, sent by a Canadian soldier to his wife, would have been considered slightly racy at the time of the First World War.

A typical sentimental postcard of French manufacture, sent by a Canadian soldier to his sister in Ontario in 1915.

Postcards of Valcartier, where the first units of the CEF concentrated before sailing to England in 1914, were a popular souvenir during the First World War. This image shows units from Montreal.

A message from an unidentified soldier: "Got these cards on July 12th in London. am now in YMCA Portsmouth. it is raining outside. intend taking a trip up in a airplane this afternoon. peace celebration day July 19th 1919."

In this card to his family, Andrew Brider of Hamilton, Ontario, described having tea with royalty at Windsor Castle in 1917.

When this cover was mailed in July 1942, the tide of the war had not actually turned yet - but at least the Allies had come to, as Winston Churchill would say, "the end of the beginning."

Another of the many special covers sold in wartime, this one with a V-shaped bomber formation and a V for Victory Morse code cancellation.

George Faatz enlisted in St Thomas, Ontario, in September 1915, and survived to send this card to a friend on the day the armistice came into effect. At any other time in the war, the card would have been destroyed by censors because of his hand-written note at the top.

This first day cover for a Canadian airmail stamp featured the ensign of the Royal Canadian Air Force.