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| From the Collections of the Canadian War Museum |
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For Crown and Country: The South African and First World Wars, 1885-1931
Photos
To South AfricaThe first military contingent sent to South Africa consisted of over 1,000 volunteers, including four nurses. They came from across the country, although most were from urban areas.
George Metcalf Archival Collection, CWM 19830041-100 |
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Canadian Infantry Engaging the BoersCameras were bulky, fragile and rarely carried into battle. This is a battlefield photograph of Canadian soldiers firing at Boers on 18 February 1900 at Paardeberg.
Library and Archives Canada, pa-181414 |
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Into BattleThe soldiers of C Company, Royal Canadian Regiment, climb a hill before attacking.
The Royal Canadian Regiment Museum Collection |
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Pack HorsesWithout widespread motor transport, armies relied on horses and mules to move soldiers, guns, ammunition and supplies into the war zone. These horses are carrying 18-pounder artillery shells up to the front for the attack on Vimy Ridge.
Library and Archives Canada, pa-001229 |
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William Barker, VCManitoba's William Barker shot down 50 enemy aircraft over Italy and France in his biplane during the First World War. In one battle, Barker single-handedly engaged several dozen German aircraft, downing four. He was severely injured before managing to escape. His efforts won him the Victoria Cross in 1918. Barker was killed in a flying accident in Ottawa in 1930.
George Metcalf Archival Collection, CWM 75-1 |
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Disaster at HomeDuring the war, merchant ships carried vital supplies to Britain, traveling in convoys due to the danger of attack by German submarines. In 1917, the collision in Halifax Harbour of two convoy ships, one carrying explosives, resulted in one of the greatest explosions in history. The explosion killed 1,600 and injured 9,000 more. Despite this catastrophe, convoys sailed again from Halifax in less than a week.
W.G. MacLaughlan, Library and Archives Canada, C-019953 |
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Canadian Nursing SistersMore than 3,000 nurses served in the Canadian Army Medical Corps in the First World War. They saved lives by assisting with operations and caring for soldiers recovering from their wounds. During the intense rush of casualties after a major battle, nurses worked for days on end with virtually no rest.
Library and Archives Canada, pa-001291 |
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Heavy Howitzer in ActionArtillery such as this howitzer fired hundreds of thousands of shells, before and during large battles. Artillery fire inflicted approximately 60 per cent of all wounds during the First World War.
Library and Archives Canada, pa-000743 |
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Children's Knitting ClubEven young children were expected to do their bit for the war effort. Children knitted socks for soldiers, helped around the house or farm, and pooled their pennies for victory.
Galt Museum & Archives, P19760231218 |
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Plane CrashFlying as a pilot during the war was tense, nerve-wracking work. Constant alertness meant the difference between life and death. With fragile aircraft, extreme weather conditions, and enemy fighters, a new flyer's life expectancy could be only months, or even days.
Library and Archives Canada, pa-003894 |
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The Creeping BarrageThe creeping barrage was a key to victory on the Western Front. This moving wall of artillery fire forced the enemy to remain under cover, where he could not fire on the attacking infantry as they moved across No Man's Land.
Library and Archives Canada, pa-001879 |
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U-Boat ThreatGerman U-Boats sank 26 ships off Nova Scotia and south of Newfoundland in 1918. The Royal Canadian Navy deployed almost 100 small warships to counter the U-Boat threat.
Courtesy of the Department of National Defence, PMR086-509 |
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Life at the Front"Every day our defences were leveled. Every night we would crawl out, after long hours spent flat on our stomachs, covered to the neck in mud and blood, and endeavour to repair the damage. Every night we lost a few men, every day we lost a few men."
Harold Peat
Library and Archives Canada, pa-002044 |
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| National Archives of Canada/pa-001096 |
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| Library and Archives Canada, pa-002156 |
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| Library and Archives Canada, pa-002229 |
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| Library and Archives Canada, pa-002162 |
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| George Metcalf Archival Collection, CWM 19930013-786 |
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| George Metcalf Archival Collection, CWM O.875 |
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| George Metcalf Archival Collection, CWM O.849 |
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Soldier Guides Wounded ComradeSoldiers suffered horrific wounds from shrapnel. Although all weaponry caused terrible physical damage, cone-shaped bullets produced cleaner wounds than irregular-shaped shrapnel. Shrapnel pieces ricocheted inside the body, causing further internal damage and gaping exit wounds. A soldier wounded in the chest from shrapnel was three times more likely to die than one wounded by a bullet.
George Metcalf Archival Collection, CWM 19910162-009 |
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Treating the WoundedDoctors learned to treat the terrible wounds of modern warfare, and served in the front lines or within range of enemy artillery. New techniques like blood transfusion saved lives. Casualties were so heavy that more than half of all Canadian physicians served overseas to meet the demand. Most would return home with new skills to treat Canadians after the war.
Library and Archives Canada, pa-000699 |
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First World War Survivor in WheelchairWith improvements in combat surgery, almost 90 per cent of all wounded soldiers who received medical treatment survived. However, many of these survivors suffered physical and mental wounds that would affect them for the rest of their lives.
George Metcalf Archival Collection, CWM 19801026-012 |
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War BridesCanadian soldiers - in training, on leave or in the hospital - fell in love. By war's end, an estimated 15,000 Canadian war brides and children lived in the United Kingdom. Many of these families later came to Canada to build new lives.
Library and Archives Canada, pa-008179 |
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War Art
Canada's Answer
Painted by Norman Wilkinson in 1917English marine artist Norman Wilkinson painted Canada's First Contingent. Over 32,000 soldiers sailed to Britain in 30 passenger liners in October 1914. At the time, it was the single largest group ever to sail from Canada.
Beaverbrook Collection of War Art CWM 19710261-0791 |
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Battle of Courcelette
Painted by Louis Weirter in 1918 Like the observer in the tree in the foreground, painter Lieutenant Louis Weirter witnessed this Somme battle as a soldier. The capture of the ruined town of Courcelette, France on 15 September 1916 was a significant Canadian victory. It was one of the few bright moments in a campaign in which British forces suffered more than 500,000 casualties.
Beaverbrook Collection of War ArtCWM 19710261-0788 |
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Stretcher Bearers in a Trench
Painted by Richard Mathews in 1918Artist Richard Mathews was commissioned as an officer in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and attached to the Medical Corps. In this painting, six soldiers prepare to remove a wounded soldier from a trench. The role of the stretcher bearers, who administered initial first aid on the battlefield, was critical. Thanks to excellent care and prompt treatment, however, 90 per cent of the wounded survived.
Beaverbrook Collection of War ArtCWM 19710261-0833 |
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For What?
Painted by Frederick Varley in 1917This painting portrays a First World War burial close to the battlefield. Varley described the cart in the centre of the picture in an interview. He remembered it as full of "khaki arms and legs ... bits of people", and the scene as "strange and incredulous." After the war, the Canadian and Allied dead were reburied in special cemeteries in France and Belgium, each grave with a white rectangular grave marker.
Beaverbrook Collection of War ArtCWM 19710261-0770 |
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Canadian Artillery in Action
Painted by Kenneth Forbes in 1918This painting shows a Canadian six-inch howitzer supporting British troops in the attack on Thiepval on 16 July 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. The artist, Kenneth Forbes, had been in the front line trenches for over two years and was wounded twice and gassed. In an interview, he remarked that artillery officers helped him ensure the accuracy portrayed in this work.
Beaverbrook Collection of War ArtCWM 19710261-0142 |
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Over the Top, Neuville-Vitasse
Painted by Alfred Bastien in 1918 Neuville-Vitasse was a heavily-fortified German village that anchored the Drocourt-Quéant Line. The 22nd Battalion attacked east of here in late August 1918. Georges Vanier, later the Governor General of Canada, always maintained that he was the officer holding the pistol in the front of the painting.
Beaverbrook Collection of War ArtCWM 19710261-0056 |
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The Artist's Own Dug-Out on the Albert-Braye Roadside
Painted by William Topham in 1916This painting depicts artist William Topham's own living quarters near the front. The dreary browns and greens suggest the mud and filth of the trenches, while the details such as the socks hung to dry give the painting a domestic, cozy air. Most ordinary soldiers did not enjoy this level of accommodation.
Beaverbrook Collection of War ArtCWM 19710261-0755 |
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Land Girls Hoeing
Painted by Manly MacDonald in 1918The director of the National Gallery of Canada, Eric Brown, invited Manly MacDonald to paint near Belleville, Ontario for the Canadian War Memorials Fund. Brown even suggested subject matter for MacDonald. "I think there should be some fine landscape subjects in connection with girls' work on the land, farming of various kinds, fruit picking etc; the clothes are picturesque and this side of the war work should certainly be pictured."
Beaverbrook Collection of War ArtCWM 19710261-0370 |
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War in the Air
Painted by Christopher Nevinson in 1918Nevinson became an official war artist in July 1917, working primarily for the British. The markings on the plane in this painting are characteristic of the Nieuport 17 flown by Canadian flying ace Billy Bishop. The painting reputedly depicts Bishop in action. Nevinson's painting also shows three enemy aircraft above the clouds, through which you can see the Somme countryside.
Beaverbrook Collection of War ArtCWM 19710261-0517 |
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The Unveiling of the Vimy Ridge Memorial
Painted by Georges Bertin Scott in 1937This painting commemorates the unveiling of the First World War Vimy Ridge memorial in France on 26 July 1936. The events and ceremonies associated with the unveiling are collectively known as the Vimy Pilgrimage. Scott depicts King Edward VIII in the very front. Mrs Charlotte Wood, Canada's first Silver Cross Mother, can be seen towards the back.
Beaverbrook Collection of War Art CWM 20020045-425 |
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Audio Clips
Into Battle
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Surviving the Trenches
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Do Your Bit
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Face of BattleListen to Canadian soldiers in the nightmare world of the trenches.
- 1. How I Endure
"You would have sworn that we had been in a slaughter house."
(Dramatized, 1:37 minutes, 2.4 MB)
- 2. On the Battlefield
"We get scared nearly to death..."
(Dramatized, 1:30 minutes, 2.3 MB)
- 3. Death and Destruction
"...one arm had been sheared from his body..."
(Dramatized, 2 minutes, 2.9 MB)
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First Peoples and the War
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Too Young to Fight
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Video
Knights of the Sky"If we were on fire, we'd had it."
Watch footage and hear eyewitness accounts of air war.
(Dramatized 2:30 Minutes) |
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Postcards
PostcardsPostcards like these were used by First World War soldiers.
George Metcalf Archival Collection CWM 19670065-156 |
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Letters
Writing to MomHarold Brown describes Christmas on the front in this letter to his mother.
George Metcalf Archival Collection CWM 19670065-156 |
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Injured in BattleWilliam Coleman tells his wife of an injury he received in battle.
George Metcalf Archival Collection CWM 19650038-014 |
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Katherine Macdonald was a nurse stationed in the north of France where she worked at a hospital caring for injured soldiers. She was killed in a bombing raid two months after she wrote this letter.
March 14, 1918
Dear Mum and Sis,
The war news does not look very good does it - we are simply rushed. We get patients from the field since the casualty clearing station was bombed, very quick work in the line in the AM and here at night. Poor fellows - they have some awful wounds. We have one very sick man. Amputation of both legs above the knee. We had to send him to the operating room again tonight and when he came back he would not rest unless he had my hand.
Katherine
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Journals
| Excerpts from the Diary of Herbert Heckford Burrell, who was stationed
on the Western Front:
Sun. May 6th, 1917
Bitterly cold wind from the North this a.m. spent restless and miserable night.
The damp group & cold draught thro' tunnel made sleep impossible. Waited until
late in the eveg and until full moon was up before we started. Fritz was sendg
over a lot of high explosive over the hill we had to cross, however, we reached
our objective safely. Soon after taking over the trenches Fritz started shelling
our positions heavily with H.E. and it was a very trying time as the trenches
are new & not yet dug very deep. One of my platoon men - Peacock by name a quiet
unassuming courteous man, had been at his post barely 5 minutes when he was
blown to pieces, what a devil's game it is, only a few minutes ago on the way
up he had been telling me of his plans when he got back to Canada & how he intended
going in for cattle raising. He leaves a wife and family behind him.
Wed. May 30th, 1917
Thunder shower in afternoon it rained just enough to make things miserable for
us. One wishes for something to read or do. You are liable to go bughouse lying
hour after hour on your back gazing at the chalk roof of your funk hole which
is only two inches from your nose.
After the war they say the question will be asked what did you do in the
Great War? To us out here the question rather arises what have you done with
your LIFE, any moment it may have gone from you.
Mon. June 4th, 1917
Had a hunt for lice as it was so warm and you could sit in the sun with your
shirt off. I found only 3 which must have been very active members for I thought
there were 300 from their activity. Had some tea today, the first since 2 days
ago and it was quite a treat.
A night of horror was in store for us and it happened thus: Our men packed
like herrings in this deep and narrow trench neither coming nor going had to
endure a hellish fire from trench mortars & it was not long before the casualties
mounted up. No effort was made by any officers or noncomons to get the men to
safety & they stood for what seemed an eternity uselessly sacrificing their
lives.
I helped to carry the stretchers out & what with disgust at the useless sacrifice
of valuable lives & nerves that had been severely tested for so many hours expecting
violent death every moment. There were 5 killed I know of in 1st platoon & several
terribly wounded. I was very very close to death all the time. A night of horror
indeed.
John Teahan served with first the Canadian and then the British Army,
where he served until reported missing in action at Thiepval in Oct. 1916. The
following are excerpts from his diary:
January 23, 1916
One of the peculiarities of today's bombardment was a small black dog, a mongrel,
which ran about the field behind us all during the worst of it. Apparently it
would be a sure goner after a shellburst, but when the air had cleared of the
flying mud and dirt it would reappear still running about the empty shell holes.
January 27, 1916
Going in last Sunday, we lost Lieut. Melville, our bomber, a very fine fellow
and 7 other bombers were wounded slightly - the result of speaking too loudly
and talking too much. Their conversation was heard in the German lines and they
were shelled with whiz-bangs.
July 26, 1915
About 7:45 I went into the Ploegsteert Church to see the damage that has been
done in the last few days. While we were looking around, two shells came over
in rapid succession, so we got outside as fast as possible and started for home.
The civilians all got inside their houses after herding the children off the
streets. In a few minutes, Ploegsteert was practically emptied of soldiers,
and crowds were going down Le Romain Road, some walking some running. Meanwhile
the guns started shelling the road. At every whiz overhead, I and everyone else
threw ourselves in the ditches alongside or flat on the road until the shell
had burst.
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