History Browser

Poem "Death of Captain Vicars" by Victorian-era poet Harriett Annie Wilkins.

In this 1943 radio speech, Mary Churchill describes her favourable impressions of a recent visit to a CWAC training centre.

In June 1813, James FitzGibbon (1780-1863) was a lieutenant of the 49th (the Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot in command of the British outpost at Beaver Dams. He received warning from Laura Secord (1775-1868) of an impending American surprise attack, and his instructions led to their ambush and surrender. FitzGibbon had a remarkable military career, which reached its high point when he was largely responsible for preventing Mackenzie's rebels from taking Toronto in 1837. This testimonial was reproduced in ‘From Brock to Currie’ (Toronto, 1935).

In 1941, for the first time in Canadian history, women were recruited for Canada's Armed Forces. This television clip features scenes from the NFB recruitment film "The Proudest Girl in the World" and interviews with two women who answered the call to enlist in World War II.

This 1942 radio broadcast features testimonials from airwomen of the Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division (WDs) who are proud to be serving their country in the ground jobs that keep men flying. The WDs played a vital role in the operation of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during WW II.

An electronic reproduction of the watercolour on paper artwork, "Leading WREN," created by Margaret Kathleen MacLeod.

This 1942 episode of the radio program "Comrades in Arms", entitled "The Wrens are Here," describes the duties of servicewomen in the Royal Canadian Navy, whose jobs on shore freed up men for service at sea during WW II.

Laura Secord (1775-1868) walked into a camp of Amerindians towards the end of her famous 30 kilometre trek on 22 June 1813. The group were allies of the British, and they led Secord to a detachment of British troops stationed at the DeCew house, on the Niagara Escarpment near present-day St. Catherines, Ontario. There, she was able to pass on her warning of an impending American attack. This print gives a rather romanticized view of the heroine. At the time of her exploit, Secord was 38, rather older than suggested here. Nevertheless, a contemporary eyewitness account describes her 'slender frame and delicate appearance'.

Canadian women were not allowed to fight during the Second World War but they did just about everything else. Tens of thousands joined the women's divisions of the Armed Forces. Hundreds of thousands stepped into jobs in wartime industry. At home and abroad they were welders and pilots, nurses and clerks, the homemakers that kept families together, protecting the home front and the Canadian way of life. These are some of their stories.

Report on Captain Angela Mondeux, an officer of the Royal 22nd Regiment deployed to the former Yugoslavia. The news clip relates some other countries' reactions to a female in uniform.