August 2018 Lieutenant Austin Chisholm was just a young private when Boer General Piet Cronjé surrendered with 4, 000 of his soldiers to British and Canadian troops at Paardeberg on 27 February 1900. With Chisholm’s regiment, The Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR), facing down Cronjé’s troops from an elevated position a short 65 yards away, the …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-last-surviving-royal-canadian-regiment-veteran-of-the-battle-of-paardeberg-died-47-years-ago/
July 2018 General Sir Arthur Currie, GCMG, KCB, has the unique distinction of being the first Canadian soldier to command the Canadian Corps, a post he was elevated to in 1917. Making this accomplishment even more significant is the fact that he rose to this position after beginning his military career in the Canadian militia …
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July 2018 The Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Ontario, is the national repository for artifacts, photos and artwork related to Canada’s military past and the wars Canada has fought in, from the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), up to modern conflicts like the Afghanistan War and Canada’s peacekeeping contributions. In a display case in the World …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/a-teddy-bear-goes-to-war/
June 2018 The George Cross is a bravery award in the British Honours System, second only to the Victoria Cross. It may be awarded to any person, military or civilian, regardless of military rank, for heroism not in the presence of an enemy. One such recipient is Leading Aircraftsman (LAC) Kenneth Spooner, a Royal Canadian …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/young-airman-awarded-george-cross-during-wwii/
June 2018 Like all men and women who join the military, Seaman 1st Class Edward Slapikas no doubt intended to return home to his family, either for visits or upon discharge. Slapikas joined the United States Navy just prior to America’s entry into World War II and was posted to the USS Oklahoma, a battleship then stationed …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/sailor-who-died-at-pear-harbour-returns-home-77-years-later/
May 2018 On 25 May 1918, Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Sharpe stood at the window of his second-floor hospital room at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal and leapt to his death. Sharpe was a war hero, having won the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), and was a sitting Member of Parliament, having most recently won his seat in …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/a-forgotten-war-hero-receives-long-overdue-recognition/
At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them. –For The Fallen by Robert Laurence Binyon September 2017 In the small Chelsea Pioneer Cemetery in Chelsea, Quebec, is the final resting place of a Canadian soldier and veteran of the South African War: Private Richard Rowland Thompson, who served with distinction …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/forgotten-valour-the-only-canadian-soldier-to-win-the-queens-scarf-of-honour/
August 2017 On 9 August 1974, Canada suffered its greatest single-incident loss of life in peacekeeping operations when a Royal Canadian Air Force DHC-5 Buffalo aircraft, assigned to the second United Nations Emergency Force mission in Syria, was shot down by three missiles fired by the Syrian Army. All nine passengers and crew were killed. …
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July 2017 On 15 July 2017, a historical plaque was dedicated at the site of a near-forgotten aerodrome: Trethewey Field, the first aerodrome in Toronto. The plaque dedication was the end of years of effort to formally recognize this historic grassy airfield, where the first aeroplane flight in Toronto started and finished its journey; an …
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Teddy visits the abandoned railway town of Depot Harbour, Ontario Located on Parry Island, Ontario, Depot Harbour was founded in 1892 as a railway company town by John Rudolphus Booth, the owner of the Ottawa, Arnprior and Canadian Atlantic Railway. Depot Harbour, which served as the western terminus for the railway, featured many of the …
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