This painting depicts veterans as objects of public interest and curiosity after their return to Canada. The setting is the intersection of Davisville Avenue and Yonge Street in Toronto, outside the Orthopaedic Military Hospital, which had 180 beds and an artificial limb factory. The graffiti "Wizz-Bang Corner," derived from the name for small caliber enemy shells during the war, may indicate a common gathering spot for veterans to meet, rest, or beg. "Fragments From France," in small lettering above the bench, refers to a publication by famous British cartoonist Bruce Bairnsfather. It also betrays a dark sense of humour, as the veterans pictured here include permanently wounded soldiers, one of them an amputee.
Painted by Stanley Francis Turner
Beaverbrook Collection of War Art
CWM 19710261-0766
Canada and the First World War
