Canadian Forces Nursing Sisters (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3583104) Nursing Sister, RCAF, white uniform, 18 Dec 1943. Canadian Nursing Sisters in the Second World War During the Second World War Canada’s Nursing service was expanded to all three branches of the military: the Canadian Army, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and the … Read more
Royal Canadian Navy Motor Torpedo Boats (MTB), and Motor Gun Boats (MGB) (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524824) RCN Motor Gun Boats, 1944. (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524823) RCN operating motor gun boats (D hull) in the English Channel, 21 May 1944. MGBs were bigger and had 4 engines and … Read more
Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-1945, Introduction. (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 5671742) During the Second World War, from dawn till sunset every day shipping convoys bringing food and raw material to Britain were escorted by Short Sunderland aircraft of the RCAF and RAF, April 1941. (Nova Scotia Archives Photo) … Read more
Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) 1939–1945, Landing Craft (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3205055) LCT(4) 1006 off ‘Nan White’ Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944. (Library and Archives Canada, MIKAN No. 3554628) Landing Ship Tank Mk. 3, 3505, Canadian Vickers Ltd. (Montreal), launched 23 November 1944, commissioned 20 June 1945. (Library and Archives Canada Photo, … Read more
RCAF training and equipment (RCAF Photo) No. 2 Service Flying Training School, Uplands. At this circular desk at No. 2 Service Flying Training School, complete records of all aircraft on the station are kept. The board shows at a glance the state of serviceability and the number of planes available, 17 February 1943. (Library and Archives … Read more
RCAF Higher Formations and Ancillary Units 1939-1945 RCAF logo, King George VI crown. RCAF logo, Queen Elizabeth II Crown. Air Force HQ, formed at Ottawa on 18 Feb 1920, redesignated RCAF HQ on 1 Apr 1924, redesignated Air Force HQ on 31 Aug 1939, ceased to exist on formation of Canadian Forces HQ on 1 … Read more
Women in the Canadian Red Cross Corps (CRCC), 1939-1945 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3203404) Personnel of the Canadian Red Cross Ambulance Convoy, Charlton Park, England, 7 January 1945. 641 CRCC members served overseas in Britain or continental Europe. Others were stationed in Newfoundland (a separate country until 1949) or aboard the ships … Read more
Canadian War Artists From the beginning, Canadian painters who participated in the Canadian War Records lived and worked closely with the armed forces, spending a great deal of time close to the front lines. Wherever they found themselves, they were expected to produce accurate images of fighting men, machinery, and the landscape of war. This … Read more
The 1st Canadian Infantry Division was mobilized in September 1939, along with the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions. The division, under the command of Major General Andrew McNaughton, left Halifax from Pier 21 in two heavily escorted convoys, the first departing on 10 December, three months after the declaration of war, and the second … Read more
