Aug 20 2019
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/decorated-wwii-rcaf-pilots-post-war-death-recognized-as/
Aug 19 2019
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/re-dedication-of-kandahar-memorial-cenotaph-does-nothing-to-mend-insult/
Aug 19 2019
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/memorial-cairn-at-wegner-point-in-memory-of-paratroopers-killed-in-tragic-accident/
Aug 17 2019
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/lieutenant-william-cooke-canadas-connection-to-custers-last-stand-at-little-big-horn/
Aug 14 2019
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/ghosts-of-the-past-abandoned-shipping-canals-in-ontario-and-quebec/
Aug 12 2019
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/and-the-conspiracy-theories-begin/
Aug 11 2019
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/a-schoolhouse-on-rails/
Aug 10 2019
August 2019 On Toronto’s waterfront, at Sir Casimir Gzowski Park on Lakeshore Blvd West, sits a small red-roofed building, done in a French château-style of architecture. This building was once one of the iconic buildings that made up the Joy Gas Station chain of service centres in the Greater Toronto Area of southern Ontario. Designed …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/ode-to-joy-the-last-joy-gas-station-restored-to-its-former-glory/
Aug 06 2019
August 2019 Martello Towers, are small, round defensive forts, usually costal forts, that were built in the early 19th century across the British Empire. The two story forts stood up to 40 feet high and usually had a garrison of 15 to 25 men and an officer. Their round design with thick, solid masonry walls …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/kingstons-martello-towers-monuments-to-the-early-defences-of-british-north-america/
Aug 03 2019
August 2019 There is great debate as to which town holds the distinction of having the smallest jail in Canada, or even in North America. Several towns have been bold enough to declare themselves the winner of the smallest jail, with mere inches difference between all of them. Small tourist towns such as Tweed, Creemore, …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/who-has-the-smallest-jail-in-north-america/
