[QBC]

http://www.canadianletters.ca/index.php

This site is a non-profit project that has no government or corporate funding and is preserving our history on their own with the support of private Canadians. They need our help, please write your local MP and ask them to support this worthwhile project with funding. Here is a copy of what their project is all about.

Quote:

About the Project:

The Canadian Letters and Images Project is an online archive of the Canadian war experience, from any war, as told through the letters and images of Canadians themselves. It began in August 2000, located in the Department of History at Malaspina University College. In November 2003 the Project was very pleased to bring in as partners the History Department at The University of Western Ontario. Students at Western will be working under the guidance of Dr. Jonathan Vance, Canada Research Chair in Conflict and Culture. This partnership between Malaspina and Western will ensure that more material can made available to the public through the Project web site.

The objective of the Canadian Letters and Images Project is to let Canadians tell their own story in their own words and images by creating a permanent online archive which preserves Canada's wartime correspondence, photographs, and other personal materials, from the battlefront and from the homefront. Too often the story told of Canada at war has been one of great battles and great individuals, an approach that unfortunately misses the 'ordinary' Canadian and the richness of their wartime experience.

It is our hope is that Canadians can share with one another the more personal side of a country at war. Such a collection allows us to better appreciate the struggles, anguish and joy, of Canada during wartime. It will also stand as a tribute to all Canadians, past and present, who have in any manner contributed to Canada's wartime efforts. We believe it is important to collect and recreate the personal side of the wartime experience as soon as possible, before such materials are forever lost or destroyed. Each and every piece of correspondence, every photograph, or any other item connected to Canadians during wartime, is a valuable artifact linking us to our past. While one letter or photograph may by itself seem insignificant, in combination with the multitude of other materials found in the Project those single items can help to tell a remarkable story of the unyielding spirit of a country at war.

The Canadian Letters and Images Project is an online educational resource of the Canadian war experience freely available to students, scholars, and the general public. We do not edit correspondence or select portions of collections, but include if at all possible all materials submitted to us. Our place is not to judge the historic merit of one person's experiences over those of another; we instead let those words and images from the past tell their own story.

In order to make the materials in the project available, The Canadian Letters and Images Project works closely with individuals across the country and elsewhere. Most of the materials found in this Project come from private families who have generously shared those materials with us. As an electronic archive we do not keep any of the materials, but borrow them for copying and archival scanning before returning them to the lending family. All incoming materials as of July 1, 2003 are scanned not only as jpegs for the web site but also scanned as high resolution tiffs for future preservation.

As well as a letter to your local MP, please make a donation to the site yourself if you can.

Thanx.

[RoyalHighlander]

Great idea here is a link to locate your MP to contact them to help support this great site.

http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/SenatorsMe ... ect=hoccur

[QBC]

Great link RH, Thanx......

If enough of us write to our MP's, maybe something will happen for this project..........

I've been in contact with Dr. Stephen Davies, the project director and he says their budget is only $15K a year and most of this goes to the student researchers. They have only processed about 20% of the material they have and more streams in every month without the resources to make them available to students and teachers nation wide and the Candian public . Kinda sick that our government won't help with this vital project.

[LABBATTS50]

I have tried to add content to this site several times, however, it never works.

[QBC]

LABBATTS50 wrote:

I have tried to add content to this site several times, however, it never works.

They are hoping to have a new site up this spring that is more user friendly. I'm sure your content is in the 80% they have been unable to process due to lack of funds and resources.

[QBC]

Here is one letter I found at the site. I picked it because Thomas Day was killed only four months after this letter was written. This is the type of history this project is trying to preserve.

Quote:

To: Daniel Cameron Day [father]
From: Thomas Bertrand Day
Date: January 7, 1902
Halifax, N.S. Jan 7 1902

Dear Father:-
I suppose you will have received my card before you read this. You say you only received one letter from me since I left. But if you did that is one more than I got until today and I have been here over three weeks. I got Art's beechnuts but no cake or word of any kind. You may be sure I was greatly disappointed in not receiving a line from some of you either Christmas or New Years. Auntie sent me a large box of cake, Maple Creams and good Home Made Taffy, all of which we all enjoyed for everything of that nature which comes is common property to the troop to which he belongs. We had regular rounds of feasts for more than a week - fowl, candy and cake of all sorts. The boys were all specially pleased with Art's beechnuts. We have 37 of the best men you could find in our troop from Waughby, our comedian down. I have taken snapshots of nearly all of them and will send them home in a day or two. We sail on the 14th, a week from today. It is so long since I wrote you and I write so many letters that I forget what you already know. I suppose you have read my letters to the Times and Sun.

But say we are having the most exciting time these days I have ever had in my life. Talk about a lacrosse or football match, why it is as tame as riding a broomstick - to what we are having now. We go down to the stables about 8:30 AM and saddle our chargers - and they are chargers in tamest, and ready to move out of our stables at 9. We lead the horses out in lines, one line being about 30 yards behind the others. Each line contains a troop and there are generally three squadrons of 4 troops each on parade at one time. allowing 35 for each troop we have about 450 men and horses on the campus at once. You ought to see these lined up in 12 troops. We do not mount until we get in line. After the line has number from right to left (to get odd and even no.s.) we get the order "Prepare to mount". The odd no.s lead their horses a length in advance and all grasp the mane in the left hand, at the same time placing the left foot in the stirrup. On the command "mount" all swing into the saddle and place their right foot in the stirrup. This sounds quite tame and easy to read but you ought to see the rearing, plunging and kicking and hear the shouting and din. There is not a day that someone is not thrown and badly hurt. Two were thought to be fatally injured but they are improving now. There have been 20 or 30 badly hurt in a week.

It is great fun to be on the outer flank when we wheel. Of course the man on the inner flank just wheels his horse around on one point, but those who are on the outer part of the line must gallop like furry. I tell you it is great.

I thought we would all tumble off our horses today we all laughed so heartily at one of our men, Waughby, I mentioned him as our wit. When we moved off he was on the extreme left and I on the right so I missed the first part. When I saw him first he was way behind us about 300 yards. He had the worst looking old nag you ever saw and as slow as Xmas. I don't know why it was bought. Well as I was going to say; Waughby got off and broke two goads from a neighboring tree, with these and his two spurs he was trying to get his nag to go. He persevered till he got about half way up to us who had halted. then he quickly dismounted and as he lead his horse up to our ranks he calmly stooped down and picked up a piece of paper and began to read as he haizzed his horse onward. If you had seen him you would certainly have done what Captain Lunts and every trooper did.

Now I don't want you to think that because I like the soldiering that I never feel as if I would like to see you all again. I should like very much to see you once more before I leave this half of the world, perhaps forever. but I have no fears of the outcome. As you say, I know God can protect me as well in Africa as he has done in America. I hope to able to do something for him in my own week way. I have a fine chum too. He is a Methodist minister and one of the most whole souled men I ever met. I'll tell you more of him again. His father is a Baptist minister. Lou Elliot got discharged the other day for drunkenness and being a general no good. I'm glad he is out as he was a regular nuisance. He was always begging money. I lent him 10 $ and kicked myself for doing it but gave him a piece of my mind when he came for `more.

Bliss Williams is here. We have great chats but he is in another squadron.

I have not received a sentence from Flo yet though I wrote her as soon as AI landed. You say in your letter that the rest are going to write but a fail to find any but yours. Thinks your letters must be lost before they leave. Why didn't Art and all the rest write? I have been getting two or three letters every day but would like to get a few more from home. You might write more often than I do. Think of how many I have to write to. Then I think you might send me a paper once in a while especially those in which my letters are published then I would not be apt to write the same thing twice. Auntie sent me the Times in which my sendoff was reported and that is the only paper I have received. It seems to me if it were not for her I would fare pretty slim. There if mistake not I asked for Aunt Sadie's address. Take my advice and answer the letter when you read them then you will fill the bill better.

I hope Leonard and Cam are better. I wish I could have kissed the dear boys before I left. Never mind I'll bring them a monkey from Africa if I can find one. The boys brought three home the last time.

How does Ed like his school? Tell him to write. We received the last of our clothes tonight so I'll send mine home soon. I'll write again before I leave whether I get an answer to this or not. I'm going to write to the "Ad" this or next week before I leave also. Excuse haste as it is nearly bed time.

Give my love to all, especially to mother. Give her a kiss for me. Write soon to my address here as letters will be forwarded if I do not get it.

Love your son

Bert.

Address
285 Trooper T. Bertrand Day,
No 1 troop, E Squadron,
2 C.M.R. (don't leave out)

Thomas Bertrand Day was born November 28, 1877 in Woodford County, Sydenham, Ontario, the eldest of six children of Daniel and Jean Day. He enlisted in Toronto in 1901 and was killed at the Battle of Hearts River April 2, 1902.

[QBC]

Quote:

To: Katie
From: Fred
Date: August 13, 1918
Somewhere in France
Aug. 13/18
Dear Katie:-
Received your letter and parcel O.K. Hope you will not think I am complaining. But please don't send me those trench candles they are simply useless. Also candy and chocolate I don't care for. Please send cigarettes, cake, chewing gum, and a tin of peanut butter, and that will please me as much as a fancy parcel. I don't feel right for writing just now. I have just come through another german hunt. Quite a few of my old pals are either wounded or other wise. And I feel as if my turn to follow some of them is pretty near. Well dear girl Cyril will be in France again before long. Well Katie this letter leaves me in the best of health hoping it reaches you the same.
Ever your loving brother
Fred B

Frederick William Barnes was born in Birtle, Manitoba in 1895. He enlisted in January, 1916 with the 61st University Battalion and later served with "C" Coy. 8th Bn., Canadian Infantry (Manitoba Regiment). He was killed August 31, 1918 at the age of 22 and was buried at the Upton Wood Cemetery, Calais, France.

[QBC]

Quote:

The Gordon Barnes Collection
The collection consists of two poems written by Barnes during WWII. Barnes had participated at Dieppe and was taken prisoner there, and the poem Dieppe was written while a prisoner of war.


Dieppe

It was the eighteenth day of August, in nineteen-forty-two
We sailed away from England, and no one knew where to
We had received no orders, no friends to see us leave
The Second Canadian Division, with the blue patch on their sleeve

Early the next morning, when everything was still
We saw those tracer bullets, come at us from the hill
Though we kept right on sailing, and no one will forget
The morning that we landed, on the coast there at Dieppe

The enemy was waiting, and had taken up their post
We met a hail of bullets as we landed on the coast
Every man there landed, or at least he tried
Many men were wounded there, and many more men died

It was early in the morning, when we started in to fight
The mortar bombs came at us, from in front, and left and right
The shells came at us from the cliffs, they bombed us from the air
But the Second Canadian Division, did not so easily scare

We fought there for eight hours, from 6 a.m. till two
Our losses were terrific, but there was nothing we could do
The navy came to help us, but their boats they could not land
So we had to surrender, at Dieppe there on the sand

What is left of us are now prisoners, beneath a foreign flag
Here in the heart of Germany, in this VIII B stalag
Though many of our comrades fell, we never will forget
They gave their lives there fighting, in the battle of Dieppe

When this war is over, and once again we're free
To our homeland we'll be sailing, to a land of liberty
Many have a battle scar, there's no one will forget
The morning that he landed, on the French coast at Dieppe

[QBC]

I like the fact that the card was dated.

Quote:

Malcolm Campbell was born in Scotland in 1884, emigrated to Canada, and enlisted in Vernon, British Columbia with the 54th O.S. Kootenay Battalion. [view his attestation papers] He served overseas with the 7th Battalion Canadian Infantry (British Columbia Regiment) and was killed in France April 26, 1917. He is buried in the Bois-Carre British Cemetery in France.

[QBC]

Ed Gallagher was from Australia, born in 1916. He was a Wireless Airgunner who spent his war years (1941-1943) flying out of Mt. Batten (Plymouth, England) and Pembroke Dock (Wales) on Sunderlands. These two letters, part of a collection of 106 letters, describe his impressions of Canada as an Australian on his way to war in 1941 and in 1943 waiting to return to Australia. He was at the time writing to Molly Thomson, who he married in 1943 on his return to Australia.



To: Molly Thomson
From: Ed Gallagher
Date: November 11, 1941
My Darling,
You can see from my seat in this train miles of whiteness stretching as far as the horizon. My eyes are sore from its glitter. Every time the train stops we hop out and have a battle-royal. The train is centrally-heated, thank the Lord; - outside the temperature is as low as 20 ° below freezing!

I had better give you a resume of what has taken place since I last wrote. We had a wonderful day in Los Angeles. - We saw all over Warner Bros. Studio. Jack and I went without lunch and wandered off by ourselves. We saw a scene of a new picture, in which Kay Francis is being starred, in the process of being filmed. That chap (I forget his name) and his famous mouth-organ band were in the scene. I met Kay Francis, who, by the way looks better off even than on the screen. Jack and I had a whale of a time! We were introduced to Bette Davis and Jane Wyman, both of whom, like Kay, are very charming and, I think, better looking off than on the screen.

I had nine letters in my pocket to post, - four of my own and five for a couple of chaps who had been bad boys and were not allowed on shore. I asked Miss Wyman if there were a Post Office handy or someplace I could buy stamps. She offered to post them for me, and, when I tried to give her the money, laughed me to scorn. So you can say you've had a letter posted to you by a film-star. - Number (5) it was.

I saw all over Hollywood, and Beverley Hills. You have no idea how beautiful the homes are!

Los Angeles, at first sight, is a maze of oil-derricks. They look like a large forest. It would take a fortune to live there, though! I saw the famous Brown Derby, Ciro's, the Chinese Theatre, with the foot-prints and hand-prints of the stars; I never saw Spencer Tracy, or Clark Gable, though, so was unable to give them your regards.

San Francisco is a beautiful spot. We stole into its Golden Gate at dawn, and saw its wonderful bridges. Its famous prison, Alcatraz; and Treasure Island, which was built for the World Fair.

From San Francisco, I travelled overland to Vancouver. It's a lovely drive, through California, and Oregon, then British Columbia. I sent you a Cable from Vancouver. Everyone in America had friendly smiles and we were cheered wherever we went.

I walked over as much of Vancouver as I could in the few hours we stayed there, and liked the place very much.

Canada has strange liquor laws. The Hotels are not allowed to serve anything but beer, and then, if you want to drink you must sit down at a table. If you want to drink a nip of rum, or a glass of whiskey, you must obtain a license (25 cents), then buy it by the bottle at a liquor store!

The trip across the Canadian Rockies is awe inspiring. Snow clad peaks, glaciers, racing torrents with leaping salmon are everywhere.

When the train stopped at Winnipeg, the populace greeted us with supper and a dance, although the train only stopped an hour or two. We had half an hours walk around Edmonton and Jasper; and at Melville we put on a march through the township for the inhabitants; the march developed into a snow fight.

These trains are very comfortable. I have my own bed to sleep in at night, with clean linen every night. I sleep like a top.

We are getting near the dangerous part of our trip, now, darling; but, strangely for me, I'm not worried. - and please don't you worry, either, dear. I know I'll come back safely to you. My only worry is that you may have found someone else, much nicer than I, and will no longer want me for a husband. Please keep loving me Molly Darling. - No matter how long this dreary waiting and separation may last. I'll make it up to you when it's over, and I'll go on loving you more and more each day. We'll be the happiest married couple ever.

Pray for me, darling, - and remember that I'm thinking of you all the time.

I adore you, Ed xxxxx

P.S. Love me? - Don't forget to give my love to your Mother, Dad and the kids, - or to tell them how much I love you. Ed xxxxx






To: Molly Thomson
From: Ed Gallagher
Date: June 27, 1943
My own Darling,
Now that the time draws near when I will be able to see and hear you again after so long, I find myself in a perfect frenzy of impatience. Oh! Sweetheart, I love you! When I look back and count the days that have grown into months, and the months that have grown into years since last I was able to hold you in my arms, sometimes I wonder how I have been able to bear it! I nearly went mad, in Canada, when they held us up for weeks, and now that it appears that I may be stuck here for Lord knows how long, I'm beginning to froth at the mouth. If I could only ring you up, or somehow hear your voice!

Auckland has been very kind to us. Alby Creek, who is a friend I made on the voyage, and I have been made the guests of a Mrs. Pilkington who has been kindness itself to us. We've just got home from a drive all over the surrounding countryside. (She has a "Gas-Producer" on her car) and our stay is being made very pleasant, but I wish they'd hurry up and send us on! Alby is a Corporal in the Medical Section, and he has assigned himself the job of looking after me. (Don't worry Dear, - there's nothing much wrong with me, except this awful longing for you!) Alby is a good chap. He's from Adelaide, and he's been very decent to me. I don't know how I'd have got on without him. He's a very good R.C., too, and has made me stick to the straight and narrow.

I've had a marvellous trip, and some grand experiences to tell you of; incidentally, Love, I've managed to pick up those things you asked me to get; hope you like 'em.

I hope your Mother and Dad and Al and the others are all well. It will be great to see them all again. It's terribly hard to bear, not hearing from anyone at home, especially you, for so long! I hope the Cables and Airgraphs I've been sending from every place I've touched have all arrived safely. I wonder if I'll be able to get leave as soon as I arrive in Aussie? I'll go mad and bite someone or something if I don't! I don't know what is to become of me when I get home. I wonder if they'll keep me on as an instructor or if I'll be discharged and go back to the G.P.O.? Frankly, I hope it's the latter. Lately I've begun to incline to agree with the quacks and the lads who have told me that I've done more than my share in this war. - I have more operational hours than anyone else I have met who have been in England as long as I have, and I feel both physically and morally tired, - washed out, in fact, and, I think I need a long, - long rest! This spell away from flying that I've just had on this trip has freshened me up considerably, and already I feel like a new man. Only these attacks I have now and then, - the aftermath of that darned concussion, - worry me. But I find that if I take things very quietly, - and keep right off drink or high excitements, - that I have no trouble. I haven't had a glass of beer for months, now, and feel a lot better for the lack of it.

I hope all the Mulls and the lads are well. It will be grand seeing them all again. I can laugh at it all, now, Darling mine, but, when I left Brisbane that day, I felt that never again would I be coming back. It was a silly way to think, but I didn't give myself one chance in ten of surviving.

God has been very good to me. You and Mother must have prayed a lot for me. I shall have to spend the rest of my life being thankful.

Well, bed is calling and I'm a bit fagged after today's drive, so Goodnight, Darling. I hope it's only a matter of days before I can ring you (at least) and that you still love me, - because I adore you, - I always have, and I always will, Ed xxxxxx

P.S. Love me? Ed x

[QBC]

Quote:

Ivan Clark Maharg
August 30, 1918
I am sorry that I have to mention poor Carey McKee was among the list of killed. He went forward with "B" Coy. just ahead of us. They reached their first, second, & final objective (the town of Monchy) with only a few casualties. The hun by this time seemed absolutely up in the air & was evacuating & leaving everything behind in his endeavor to escape our our rush. The opposition seemed so slight that the company instead of stopping pushed on past the town & into the open. As far as I know Carey was still with them. In front of them there was another small wood & apparently the enemy had it full of machine guns. Here he made his stand, & opened up such a heavy fire that "B" Coy. had to retire at once to where they could get a line of trenches for cover. They suffered heavily coming back but soon got settled down in a bunch of shell holes. One of the officers (M. Wilson of "B" Coy.) told me that McKee, his Sergt. & two men got into a shell hole together. In another shell hole close bye they had seen a wounded R.C.R. soldier. The latter seemed to be suffering very much so Carey got up to move over & see if the fellow's wounds had been dressed just as a large shell burst right on top of his same shell hole. Carey, the Sergt. & the wounded man were killed outright so none of them had any suffering to hear. The other two men were badly wounded. I know about where he was hurried the same day & I think our Padre has erected a cross over his resting place. It is about two hundred yards to the north west of the Village of "Monchy." McKee was doing fine work here. It was his third time over the top & I guess he saw as much fighting as any man out here for the length of time that he was at it. His platoon had grown to look upon him as a chum & a leader & his Coy. officers respected him as a gentleman & a conscientious officer. I have thought of writing his people but perhaps if you showed them this it would do just as well. Use your own judgment about the matter.

http://www.canadianletters.ca/

[TattoodGirl]

QBC, is this a site I can send copies of my Great uncles letters, pics and medals?

Oh and how about more recent....such as from my natural father, uncles, cousins and others?

[QBC]

TattoodGirl wrote:

QBC, is this a site I can send copies of my Great uncles letters, pics and medals?

Oh and how about more recent....such as from my natural father, uncles, cousins and others?

To the best of my knowledge, you can send them anything...there is a post Korea section of the website, so I'm sure you can send them anything from your father and such.

I know they take the originals, letters..post cards... pictures and the like, preserve them into their data base and return them to the families.

Pretty worth while project in my opinion.

[TattoodGirl]

QBC wrote:

TattoodGirl wrote:

QBC, is this a site I can send copies of my Great uncles letters, pics and medals?

Oh and how about more recent....such as from my natural father, uncles, cousins and others?

To the best of my knowledge, you can send them anything...there is a post Korea section of the website, so I'm sure you can send them anything from your father and such.

I know they take the originals, letters..post cards... pictures and the like, preserve them into their data base and return them to the families.

Pretty worth while project in my opinion.

I agree, very cool!!!

I will contact them....I have some pretty awesome stuff from them all.

Thank you for the info

[QBC]

One of two poems writen by Gordon Barnes during WWII

Quote:

Poem
Dieppe

It was the eighteenth day of August, in nineteen-forty-two
We sailed away from England, and no one knew where to
We had received no orders, no friends to see us leave
The Second Canadian Division, with the blue patch on their sleeve

Early the next morning, when everything was still
We saw those tracer bullets, come at us from the hill
Though we kept right on sailing, and no one will forget
The morning that we landed, on the coast there at Dieppe

The enemy was waiting, and had taken up their post
We met a hail of bullets as we landed on the coast
Every man there landed, or at least he tried
Many men were wounded there, and many more men died

It was early in the morning, when we started in to fight
The mortar bombs came at us, from in front, and left and right
The shells came at us from the cliffs, they bombed us from the air
But the Second Canadian Division, did not so easily scare

We fought there for eight hours, from 6 a.m. till two
Our losses were terrific, but there was nothing we could do
The navy came to help us, but their boats they could not land
So we had to surrender, at Dieppe there on the sand

What is left of us are now prisoners, beneath a foreign flag
Here in the heart of Germany, in this VIII B stalag
Though many of our comrades fell, we never will forget
They gave their lives there fighting, in the battle of Dieppe

When this war is over, and once again we're free
To our homeland we'll be sailing, to a land of liberty
Many have a battle scar, there's no one will forget
The morning that he landed, on the French coast at Dieppe