The Colonel Douglas H. Gunter Award

(formerly the Canadian War Museum History Awards)

The Canadian War Museum is dedicated to the study of Canadian military history and the effects of war upon Canada and its people. The Museum also recognizes the need to assist students who plan to continue their studies in the field of history. The Colonel Douglas H. Gunter History Awards have been instituted to support and encourage these students.

The Colonel Douglas H. Gunter History Awards are financially supported by the Friends of the Canadian War Museum.

Download the application form (PDF file, 80 Kb)

Value of the Awards

The total value of the Awards consists of five prizes of $1000 each, to be distributed to five winning students.

Criteria for admission

Application for the Colonel Douglas H. Gunter History Awards is open to all senior students who plan on graduating from secondary school in the spring of 2012. To qualify, each student must submit an original work using one of the following media:

• Text
• Visual Art
• Web Design
• Audio or Video Production

In addition, each student must include a completed application form (attached).

Please do NOT include extra material such as transcripts, letters of recommendation, news clippings or résumés.

Deadline

Completed applications must be postmarked and mailed no later than April 15, 2012. Late applications and applications that do not provide all the requested material will not be reviewed. Faxed or e-mailed applications will not be considered.

Theme

Every year, the Canadian War Museum selects a theme on which students must base their work. For 2012, students are to produce a work on the following theme:

The War of 1812
In June 1812, war broke out between Great Britain and the United States. Over the next three years Americans, Britons, Canadians and First Peoples found themselves caught up in a conflict that saw Canada invaded, navies clash on the Great Lakes and on the high-seas, Washington burned, and powerful armies battle in the southern United States. By the war’s end, by both sides claimed victory. The war and its memory affected all participants.

Your original work should explore a theme associated with the War of 1812. Here are some questions you might like to consider: How did the war shape Canada and the world? Who won – and lost – the War of 1812? How does it affect your life in Canada today?

The Colonel Douglas H. Gunter History Awards are financially supported by the Friends of the Canadian War Museum.

Guidelines

Submissions may use one of the media listed below:

• Text (i.e. essay, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, journalism)
• Visual Art (i.e. photography, drawing, painting, 3-D elements)
• Web Design (i.e. text, images, graphics, animations)
• Audio or Video Productions (i.e. songs, documentaries, commentaries, films)

1. Text

• Must be written either in English or in French, to a maximum of 2000 words.
• Students must include 4 copies of their written assignment.

2. Visual Art

• Students may employ any two- or three-dimensional media.
• Students must submit their original work and 4 copies of an abstract explaining their work and the materials used in a minimum of 250 words.

3. Web Design

• Text elements on the Web site must be written either in English or in French.
• Students must ensure that the Web site is fully accessible as of April 15, 2012.
• Students must submit 4 copies of each page/screen from their Web site.

4. Audio or Video Production

• Productions must be in English or French (using subtitles or translations where necessary) and must not exceed 10 minutes in length.
• Students must submit 4 copies of the transcript of their production.
• Audio productions may be submitted either on cassette tape or CD.
• Video productions may be submitted either on VHS cassette, DVD or CD-Rom.