Veterans Groups and Publications

The 48th Battalion was mobilized in Victoria, British Columbia, in November 1914 and was redesignated the 3rd Pioneer Battalion before reaching the Western Front in the spring of 1916. Veterans of the unit continued to meet for annual events into the 1950s.

As Canada went to war for the second time in a generations, the Legion president reflected on the meaning of the Vimy memorial and observed that the words "Remembrance" and "Duty" now carried even great meaning and obligation.

With the Second World War creating hundreds of thousands of potential members, the Canadian Legion took every opportunity to inform men and women in uniform of its goals and projects.

On the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the First World War, Great War veterans in Vernon, British Columbia, built this evocative display.

Although it traces its roots to the nineteenth century, the Army and Navy Veterans in Canada was not granted a federal charter until 1917. It was one of the few organizations that did not join the new Canadian Legion when it was created in 1926.

Charles Pocock of Montreal enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force at the beginning of the First World War, making him eligible to join the association of original members of the 13th Battalion.

On the back of this card were listed to most important events in the battalion's history - including the first issue of rum to the soldiers.

This 1938 financial statement of the Canadian Legion has a curious hand-written notation on it: "Legion cigarettes."

Members of the Canadian Legion's Manitoba Command came together in 1938 to celebrate the wedding anniversary of one of their own. Amongst the speakers was Eli Spencer of Morden.

This reunion included everything from the RCMP Musical Ride to an egg-and-spoon race for amputees. The grand prize, of a trip back to the battlefields, must have represented a considerable expense for the organizers, and one wonders if it was actually awarded.