On August 4, 1914, Britain declared war on Germany. Canada, as a member of the British
Empire, was automatically at war, and its citizens from all across the land responded quickly. A month after war broke out,
32,665 volunteers arrived at the new camp at Valcartier, Quebec, in 100 special trains. Thus began the growth of the colony's
peacetime army from a pre-war force of 3,110 regular and 74,213 part-time militia members. By the end of the war, Canada would
have 619,636 service people in uniform, including more than 3,000 Nursing Sisters. The tiny peacetime force would grow nearly
tenfold. It was a huge army for a population of less than eight million.
The underlying tension between French and English Canada exploded during World War I. Prior to the war, the
French Canadians did not see themselves obliged to serve the British interests.
The issue reached its zenith when Canadian Prime MinisterRobert Borden introduced the Canadian Military Service Act of 1917. Although some farmers and factory workers opposed the legislation, it was in Quebec where conscription was most vociferously denounced. Leading the campaign against conscription was Quebec nationalist Henri Bourassa and Sir Wilfrid Laurier who argued that the war pitted Canadians against each other. In the subsequent election, Robert Borden was able to convince enough English speaking Liberals to vote for him. In the Canadian Federal Election of 1917, the Union government won 153 seats, nearly all from English Canada. The Liberals won 82 seats. Although the
Union government won a large majority of seats, the Union government won only 3 seats in Quebec.
Of the 120,000 conscripts raised during the war, only 47,000 actually went overseas. Despite this, the rift
between French and English-speaking Canadians was indelible and would last for many years to come.
Ypres is the graveyard of the old Sixty-fifth. We were carried to within six miles of the place in London
buses, twenty-five men in a bus. Ypres was forty miles away. We met there the Canadian Scottish Third Brigade of 5,000 men.
From the end of the bus line we tramped six miles and encamped outside the village of St. Julien, one mile away. Two battalions
were in reserve at St. Jean and two were in the front line, mine being one of the two at the front.
Over 6,000 Canadians lost their lives before the reinforcements arrived. Canadians gained a reputation as
a formidable fighting force. Moreover, it was the first time that a colonial force caused a major European power to retreat.
The Canadians saw many battles during World War I. The first was in the French town of Neuve Chapelle. Then in the first week of April 1915, the soldiers of the 1st Canadian Division were moved to reinforce the Ypres salient. The next area where Canadians fought was at the Battle of the Somme from mid-September to mid-November. In early 1917, a massive assault was planned with a French attack in the south and a British diversion at Arras. Here, the Canadian Corps were given the responsibility of assaulting and taking Vimy Ridge—the only significant height of land in northeastern France.
Following the Canadian success at Vimy, Douglas Haig launched his controversial drive in Flanders to seize strategic rail heads and capture the German submarine
bases on the Belgian coast. On October 30th, the Canadian forces were ordered to relieve the decimated ANZAC forces in the Ypres sector. General Arthur Currie argued that the milieu was too muddy and protested that the operation was impossible without a heavy cost, but
he was overruled. Currie estimated that the Canadian forces would suffer 16,000 casualties in the taking of Passchendaele,
an estimation that turned out to be accurate (the Canadian forces suffered 15,654 casualties).
Throughout these three final months, the Canadian troops saw action in several areas. The first was near the
salient of Amiens on August 8th where the Canadian Corps (along with the Australians, French and British) was charged with the
task of spearheading the assault on the German forces in Amiens. In the subsequent battle, the morale of the German forces
was badly shaken. In Ludendorff's words, the battle of Arras was a "black day for the German army." After their breakthrough at Amiens, the Canadians were shifted back to Arras and given the task of cracking the Hindenburg Line in the Arras area.
Between August 26 and September 2nd, the Canadian Corp launched multiple attacks near the German front at
Canal du Nord. On September 27, 1918, the Canadian Forces broke through the Hindenburg Line by smashing through a dry section of the Canal du Nord. The operation ended in triumph on October 11, 1918, when the Canadian forces drove the Germans out of their main distribution centre in Battle of Cambrai.
In the final one hundred days of the war, the Canadian Corps marched successfully to Mons. However, during
this period, the Canadian Corps suffered 46,000 casualties. The last Canadian to be killed was George Lawrence Price, 2 minutes before the armistice took effect at 11 a.m. on November 11. He is traditionally recognized as being
the last soldier killed during the entire war.
There were more than 66000 Canadians lost in World War I
In Canada Remembrance Day is always observed on 11 November and the day is a holiday for federal government
employees. Common British, Canadian, South African and ANZAC traditions include two minutes of silence at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month
because that was the time (in Britain) when the armistice became effective. The poppy's significance to Remembrance Day is a result of Canadian military physician John McCrae's poem In Flanders Fields. The poppy emblem was chosen because of the poppies that bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their red colour an appropriate symbol for the bloodshed of trench warfare.
Bristol Fighter
A total of 4,747 had been produced by September 1919 and the vast majority of them served with the RFC and
the RAF dur the First World War in Italy, the Middle East, the Western Front and in the home defence role in Britain. Although
the US Army condemned the airframe as dangerous after trials where the Liberty engine replacement they were pressing for proved
to make the Aircraft nose heavy and difficult to fly, crews flying the "Brisfits" built up impressive records. For instance
in an action fought by two pilots of No. 22 Squadron on 7 May, 1918 while the two F.2Bs were patrolling over Arras they were
attacked by a superior force of seven Fokkers the two machines shot down four of the enemy. The F.2Bs were in turn attacked
by a new force of 15 enemy fighters, whereupon they promptly shot down four more Fokkers, and broke off the engagement only
when their ammunition was exhausted. The Canadian Air Force only ever held two "Brisfits" or "Bifs" on strength from 6
August, 1920 to 7 February, 1922 as part of an Imperial Gift of 114 varied Aircraft, however Canadian airmen flew the two-seat
fighters in the service of the Royal Flying Corps as well as the CAF during the First World War. Canadian Air Service pilot
Lt. A.E. McKeever of No. 11 Squadron soon began to be regarded as an ace among Bristol Fighter exponents, and between himself
and his regular observer, Sgt. (later Lt.) L.F. Powell accounted for 28 Aircraft from the time of their first victory on 26
June, 1917 and the end of the year. With the formation of No. 1 Squadron, Canadian Air Force, McKeever was appointed its commanding
officer and he adopted the Bristol Fighter as his personal Aircraft. This machine later went with him when he returned to
Canada after the Armistice and was later registered on the Canadian Civil Registry as G-CYBC. More...
Excerpts from the Handbook for Air Force Non-Commissioned Members
The Heritage The Book of Remembrance in the Memorial Chamber of the House of Parliament in Ottawa records the names of the
1,563 airmen who gave their lives during World War I. Over 800 decorations were awarded to Canadian airmen, including three
Victoria Crosses (VCs). The VC was instituted by Queen Victoria during her reign in the 1800s, and was the British Empire's
highest award for bravery.
The Battle Front Canadians flew on every type of operation and on every front
of the war. They distinguished themselves as fighter, bomber, and flying-boat pilots, army co-operation crews, and balloon
observers. They flew over the Western Approaches, the English Channel, the North Sea, and the Western Front in Belgium and
France. Other areas of involvement included the Italian Front, the Adriatic and the Mediterranean, Macedonia and Thrace, the
Aegean Sea and the Dardanelles, Egypt, Palestine and Mesopotamia, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and German East Africa. The
achievements of Canadians during the World War I are part of the rich tradition of the Air Force. More...
"The man, be rich or poor, is little to be envied, who at this supreme moment fails to bring forward his
life savings for the security of his country." Slogan to be found on the application for a Victory Bond during the 1917 Victory
Loan campaign.
The Canadian Government sold Victory Bonds to Canadian citizens, private corporations and various organizations
in order to raise funds to pay for the war. The bonds were a loan to the government that could be redeemed with interest after
5,10, or 20 years and were released during 5 different campaigns between 1915 and 1919. In 1915 a hundred million dollars
worth of Victory Bonds was issued and quickly purchased.
Each Victory Bond release saw a supporting poster campaign overseen by the Victory Loan Dominion Publicity
Committee. Over 3,000 of Canada’s Nursing Sisters volunteered at the start of the war. They worked in hospitals
and other institutions across Europe and often close to the front lines. 61 nurses died during the war, primarily from sickness.
Posters constantly urged everyone to purchase bonds. Women in the home put money aside from their housekeeping
allowance and children were encouraged to collect Thrift Stamps that could be accumulated until enough had been saved to buy
a Victory Bond.
The Victory Bond campaign of 1918 was one of the most successful raising over $600,000 in three weeks. Although
hostilities ended on the 11th November 1918, another campaign was launched in 1919 focusing on the theme of “Bring
Our Boys Back” and the need to raise funds for the rehabilitation of returning soldiers.
Posters constantly urged everyone to purchase bonds. Women in the home put money aside from their housekeeping
allowance and children were encouraged to collect Thrift Stamps that could be accumulated until enough had been saved to buy
a Victory Bond.
The Book of Remembrance in the Memorial Chamber of the House of Parliament in Ottawa records the names of the
1,563 airmen who gave their lives during World War I. Over 800 decorations were awarded to Canadian airmen, including three
Victoria Crosses (VCs). The VC was instituted by Queen Victoria during her reign in the 1800s, and was the British Empire's
highest award for bravery. 
