In July 1921, the Great War Veterans Association, a forerunner of the Royal Canadian Legion, met at the Prince Arthur Hotel in Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada. Inspired by John McCrea’s poem In Flanders Fields, Madame Anna Guérin, “The Poppy Lady of France” presented her idea of the remembrance poppy...

In this short lecture, Dr. Ron Harpelle of the Lakehead University Department of History discusses the life and military accomplishments of Patrick Riel, a sniper in the First World War.

Where the Poppies Grow is a short docu-drama about one soldier during the Great War. Alfred Saxberg was a first generation Finnish Canadian who signed up at the beginning of the war and was fortunate to return home in 1919. When the Great War ended In November 1918, the people of the Lakehead c...

In this short film, Dr. Nathan Hatton of the Lakehead University Department of History describes the remarkable life and accomplishments of Elizabeth Smellie, a field nurse in the First World War who quickly rose through the ranks and became the first female colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Shorncliffe was used as a staging post for troops destined for the Western Front during the First World War and in April 1915 a Canadian Training Division was formed there. The Canadian Army Medical Corps had general hospitals based at Shorncliffe from September 1917 to December 1918.

The Ontario Military Hospital, Orpington opened in 19th February 1916, with over 1000 beds. Built on the site of the present Orpington hospital; it was one of the largest and most up to date in the world. In 1917 the hospital was renamed as the No. 16 Canadian General Hospital and another 1000 be...

A World War One uniform and other beloved keepsakes tell the story of Finnish Canadian Alfred Saxberg's war-time experience, allowing a family insight into a life that was rarely discussed. Featuring: Marg Saxberg and Captain George Romick

Director: Ron Harpelle & Kelly Saxberg
Camera: Kelly Sax...

Canadian soldiers returning home have always been changed by war and peacekeeping, frequently in harmful but unseen ways.

Mary Riter Hamilton was as a Canadian artist. In 1919, she painted the battlefields of France and Belgium, recording the aftermath of World War One.

Wayne Morris is a Poppy Appeal Organizer from Dorset, UK. In this short interview, he describes the importance of the poppy appeal campaign and why we need to remember on November 11th.

When Kelly Saxberg first moved to Thunder Bay she began exploring her family history in the city. She discovered that her father’s parents had both worked at Canada Car and Foundry during World War Two. She also discovered that in 1939, thousands of women from Thunder Bay and the Prairies donned ...