History Browser

The war medals of famed Canadian poet John McCrae are about to go on auction. His surprised family thought the medals were lost.

They called it "The Great War" and "The War to End All Wars" – though of course it didn't. When hostilities erupted in Europe in 1914, Canadians rushed to Britain's side. But the cost was terrible: more than 60,000 were killed, 172,000 wounded. There are no more Canadian combat veterans alive to recall the horrors of the First World War, but their voices and memories live on in the archives of the CBC. Lest we forget, here are some of their stories.

They called it "The Great War" and "The War to End All Wars" – though of course it didn't. When hostilities erupted in Europe in 1914, Canadians rushed to Britain's side. But the cost was terrible: more than 60,000 were killed, 172,000 wounded. There are no more Canadian combat veterans alive to recall the horrors of the First World War, but their voices and memories live on in the archives of the CBC. Lest we forget, here are some of their stories.

On Nov. 6, 1917 Canadian troops captured Belgium's Passchendaele ridge, ending a gruelling offensive that had begun on July 31, 1917. The Battle of Passchendaele is remembered for its atrocious conditions, heavy casualties and Canadian valour. Canadians, instrumental in securing victory, earned a total of nine Victoria Crosses for their courage. In this CBC Radio documentary marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele, survivors describe feeling a sense of pride at having succeeded where those before them had failed.

By 1916, the First World War has become a stalemate. The battlefields of Europe have been dug into 800 kilometres of trenches. Men are dying, but no ground is being won or lost. On July 1, 1916, 150,000 Allied troops - including thousands of Canadians and Newfoundlanders - go over the top in an attempt to open up the western front. The result is a bloodbath. In this clip from the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, historian Martin Gilbert describes the futility of "The Big Push."

Clare Laking was 18 when he defied his father's wishes and left the family farm to enlist. He arrived in France just after Vimy Ridge, serving as a signaller who ran telephone wire along the trenches. Though he was wounded by a German shell, he believes he was the only farm boy from his area to return alive. Clare Laking died on Nov. 26, 2005, at age 106. He was the last of over 600,000 Canadians to fight in the Great War.

It began with one photograph of a tombstone, with the carved maple leaf indicating a fallen Canadian soldier of the Great War. To Steve Douglas of Kitchener, Ont., the image was more than keepsake, it was inspiration. Douglas embarked on an ambitious project to photograph and upload images of all 117,000 Canadian war graves around the world. As we hear in this clip, the photographs bring a sense of closure, described by one family as "a heart cord reattached."

Wilfrid Laurier's penchant for compromise allowed him to remain in power for 15 years, earning him the nickname of the "Great Conciliator". But in 1911, this talent proved inadequate to the task of winning elections.

Belgium's Ypres is a scene of carnage and ruin, throbbing with murderous machine gun and artillery fire and littered with unburied corpses. As if this vision of hell on earth isn't bad enough, a new innovation is turning the very air to deadly poison. In April 1915, the Germans unleash the horrific weapon of chlorine gas on Canadian troops. As we hear in this item from CBC Radio's Ideas, the new weapon is terrifying, but the Canadian line does not break.

They called it "The Great War" and "The War to End All Wars" – though of course it didn't. When hostilities erupted in Europe in 1914, Canadians rushed to Britain's side. But the cost was terrible: more than 60,000 were killed, 172,000 wounded. There are no more Canadian combat veterans alive to recall the horrors of the First World War, but their voices and memories live on in the archives of the CBC. Lest we forget, here are some of their stories.