History Browser

Excerpt from an interview with Mary Riter Hamilton is accompanied here by paintings. Focuses on what remains standing after the horrors of war. The spirit of hope shows through in a painting entitled "Looking Outwards."

Canada’s effort during the First World War was exceptional given its small population and its military history. Those Canadians who sacrificed their lives are remembered in the many monuments and cemeteries in Europe.

Extract from a letter by Mary Riter Hamilton is accompanied here by paintings. Focuses on the landscapes of ravaged towns in France and Belgium after the First World War.

The British siege of Quebec began the night of Thursday, July 12, 1759. In that first day, three hundred British bombs fell on Quebec. Many churches were destroyed. From the television series "Canada: A People's History." Includes links to educational resources, bibliography, games, puzzles, and video clips.

Canada's achievement at Vimy was a contrast to the previous failure of the French Neville offensive. Canadians were later used at Arleux-Gobelle and Fresnoy as part of the British effort to keep the Germans occupied while the French army, suffering from a series of mutinies due to high casualties, waited for the Americans to arrive.

Excerpt from an interview with Mary Riter Hamilton is accompanied here by paintings. Focuses on the scars war has left on the European countryside.

A commentary on the vital role Canadians played in the battle of Normandy and ultimately the defeat of Hitlerism, including the price they payed in casualties.

The Battle of the Atlantic was a decisive struggle that was won, just in time, with massive help from Canada--from its navy, from its airmen, from its merchant marine and from its civilian population. This document presents the cost of this victory in terms of human lives lost and describes the sacrifice of RCAF Flight-Lieutenant David Hornell, who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

Eager to restore their standing after the humiliation of 1716, the Foxes began fighting with the Illinois nation, French allies. At the same time, they established a series of alliances with other groups. A French-led expedition burned Fox villages in 1728, but victory was only partial.

This account has considerable historical value as a record of a Canadian officer attached to a British Civil Affairs unit at the end of World War II. It also presents one view of rebuilding efforts in Germany immediately after the war.