Category Archive: Original Writing

Aug 25 2019

Shining a light on the past – the Burlington Beach Canal Lighthouse

August 2019 For centuries, going back to the days of ancient Rome, lighthouses have lined shorelines around the world to serve as a navigational aid and to warn boats of dangerous areas; like a traffic sign on the sea. Since 1858, a stone lighthouse has stood beside the Burlington Bay Shipping Canal, connecting Burlington Bay/Hamilton …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/shining-a-light-on-the-past-the-burlington-beach-canal-lighthouse/

Aug 24 2019

Mob women – The rise and fall of Hamilton’s own Bessie Starkman-Perri

August 2019 Hamilton, Ontario, is known as “Steeltown” to locals and those who love the city. With two steel mills, Dofasco and Stelco, employers that have provided jobs to generations of Hamiltonians, it’s a natural nick-name. Hamilton also has another less-than-legal claim to fame as a base of operations for some of the Mafia bosses …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/mob-women-the-rise-and-fall-of-hamiltons-own-bessie-starkman-perri/

Aug 22 2019

What did he say? Let’s go to the tape

August 2019 Groan!! Ralph Goodale recently unearthed a video clip of Andrew Scheer from 2005, in which Scheer states he is against same-sex marriage. In other news, prior to the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, slavery was still socially acceptable in the southern United States and a significant portion of the southern population were slave owners. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/what-did-he-say-lets-go-to-the-tape/

Aug 20 2019

Decorated WWII RCAF pilot’s post-war death recognized by Commonwealth War Graves Commission

August 2019 For almost 73 years, the grave of Byron “Barney” Rawson, in the Rawson family plot in Woodland Cemetery in Burlington, Ontario, was only adorned with a small granite marker bearing “Byron 1922-1945”. On 23 December 1945, Wing Commander Byron Rawson, a decorated WWII pilot, sat in his parent’s home on Robinson Street in …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/decorated-wwii-rcaf-pilots-post-war-death-recognized-as/

Aug 19 2019

Re-dedication of Kandahar Memorial Cenotaph does nothing to mend insult

August 2019 On 17 August, the Department of National Defence (DND) held a re-dedication ceremony of the Kandahar Memorial Cenotaph in the Afghanistan Memorial Hall at National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) – Carling Campus, a private ceremony for family members of those lost in the Afghanistan War and other invited guests. This was an attempt to …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/re-dedication-of-kandahar-memorial-cenotaph-does-nothing-to-mend-insult/

Aug 19 2019

Memorial cairn at Wegner Point in memory of paratroopers killed in tragic accident

August 2019 On 8 May 1968 at around 8:30 pm, the worst peacetime Canadian military training accident occurred at Camp Petawawa, 100 miles north-west of Canada’s capital city, Ottawa, Ontario. It was a cold and windy day that 26 paratroopers from the 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment from Wollseley Barracks in London, Ontario, and …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/memorial-cairn-at-wegner-point-in-memory-of-paratroopers-killed-in-tragic-accident/

Aug 17 2019

Lieutenant William Cooke – Canada’s connection to Custer’s Last Stand at Little Big Horn

August 2019 Most with even a basic knowledge of American history know about “Custer’s Last Stand”, battle between the 7th Cavalry Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Custer, suffered a humiliating defeat against the combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian tribes during the Great Sioux War of 1876. LCol Custer …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/lieutenant-william-cooke-canadas-connection-to-custers-last-stand-at-little-big-horn/

Aug 14 2019

Ghosts of the past – Abandoned shipping canals in Ontario and Quebec

August 2019 Shipping canals have been an important part of water transportation networks for personal and commercial usage across the world from the early days of shipping to the modern day. Most of the early canals have by larger canals to handle bigger modern ships or other forms of transportation have made them unnecessary or …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/ghosts-of-the-past-abandoned-shipping-canals-in-ontario-and-quebec/

Aug 12 2019

And the conspiracy theories begin…….

August 2019 In the wake of the suicide (or “suicide”) of disgraced billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, the conspiracy theories are already flying around the internet. I’m a fan of a good conspiracy theory too, but for me to buy into it, it has to be plausible; which also means supported by some facts that make it …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/and-the-conspiracy-theories-begin/

Aug 11 2019

A schoolhouse on rails

August 2019 Today, it’s quite common to see portable classrooms at schools across the country. They provide a cost-effective method for adding classroom space without having to build an addition to the existing school. From 1926 to 1965, Clinton, Ontario, natives Fred and Cela Sloman were part of a unique program that provided classroom space …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/a-schoolhouse-on-rails/

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