WW II postcard campaign reminds Canadian homeowners that fallen 'lived where you live'
Each address was mailed a postcard with the name, story and fate of an individual soldier, sailor or airman who had lived there prior to enlisting in Canada's war effort.
As part of its "He Lived Where You Live" program, the Juno Beach Centre — Canada's war memorial museum in Normandy, France — issued postcards to 1,945 addresses to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day on May 8, 1945.
At their Toronto home, Gary Domski and his family recently received a postcard commemorating Pte. Peter Forbes Flett, a member of the Highland Light Infantry of Canada who died on Nov. 2, 1944, at the age of 20 — two days after he was wounded fighting in the Netherlands. Flett is buried at the Adegem Canadian War Cemetery in Belgium.
Domski said in an interview Thursday that he was already familiar with Flett's story prior to receiving the postcard because of a letter that had been dropped off by one of the late soldier's relatives. It detailed the family's history at the residence, which Domski bought about 10 years ago.
'It's a great thing to unify the country'
He said he tries to make sure his three children are aware of Canadian history, adding that getting the postcard "connects you personally to the event and to the sacrifice."
"It definitely brings a different perspective to someone that lost their life, and being a parent with a son it kind of hits you," Domski said. "This (card) is a great reminder ... and I think it's a great thing to unify the country."
Sal Falk, a spokesperson for the Juno Beach Centre Association, said the aim is to pay tribute to Canada's war fallen, while making sure that communities can connect with the personal stories and the overall history of the war.
"It's a pivotal moment in Canada as we all know with a heightened sense of pride and trying to figure out our identity," said Falk.
"I think this is a piece of Canadian history that everyone can rally behind, understanding that people who served from across the country ... came from every walk of life, every neighbourhood and every community."
Over the last two years the centre conducted research using digitized files from Library and Archives Canada as well as the archives of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to gather information about service personnel as well as their last known addresses in Canada.
1,945 service personnel honoured
The data was cross-referenced with Canada Post records to confirm that the addresses for the 1,945 service personnel chosen to be honoured — who died between July 1944 and May 1945 -- still exist.
"We know the number seems somewhat arbitrary, but we figured that with the symbolic (year) number of 1945, choosing 1,945 postcards to send felt like the right thing," said Falk.
Another postcard was sent to an address in New Glasgow, N.S., where Cpl. Gerald Austin Ellis lived. A native of Digby, N.S., Ellis was a machinist at the nearby Trenton Industries steel plant prior to enlisting in the army in February 1944.
Ellis landed in Europe in September 1944 and fought in the Netherlands where he was killed in action on Feb. 27, 1945. He is buried in the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery and is one of more than 45,000 Canadians who died in the war -- with about 14,000 killed in Europe during the conflict's final months.
After the carnage of the Allied breakout from Normandy inAugust 1944, the Canadian Army took part in the pursuit of German forces through France and into Belgium before liberating the Netherlands and striking into Germany.
'The response was overwhelming'
Falk said the centre's latest postcard campaign is its third; the idea was initially conceived to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day in 2019, with about 200 postcards being mailed. A similar campaign was used in 2022 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid.
"We found that the response was overwhelming," said Falk, who added that the campaign helps the D-Day museum at Juno Beach in France reach Canadians at home.
"There is a pilgrimage spot for Canadians to go over and learn more, but we know that not everyone can make that trip," said Falk.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Calgary Herald
2 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
Advocacy group stages Calgary protest near grocery store over plight of caged hens
A black cage, a few feet long, sat on a sidewalk along Glenmore Trail near a Sobeys store on Saturday, and people were invited to enter it and stay inside for five minutes in exchange for $20. Article content The Calgary exercise, part of a larger protest, was designed by advocacy group Animal Justice to give people an insight into how caged hens are forced to live. Article content Article content 'Consider spending your entire life in this cage,' volunteer Michelle Oberg said as a person sat inside. 'Know that this cage offers you more space than a Canadian egg laying hen would get … the days go by and nothing changes. You are still in the cage. Article content Article content 'What is sunshine like, you will never know, you have been here for so long now. You have succumbed to painful illnesses and injuries. You have osteoporosis, a bone disorder, a foot disorder and painful lesions. When will your pain end? Will you ever be free?' Article content Article content A spokesperson, however, commented on the protest, saying, 'We respect the right to peaceful protest. We also expect that demonstrators will not impede customers coming into our stores so that they can go about their shopping without interference or intimidation. The safety of our teammates and customers is our top priority.' Article content Article content Article content Animal Justice says the hens are confined to a space the size of a sheet of paper. That means activities that are natural to them, such as flapping their wings, dust-bathing or foraging for a nest, aren't possible. Such restrictions cause several conditions that force them into a state of constant pain. Article content According to the organization, only 17 per cent of hens in Canada are cage-free. Article content 'The bare minimum we can do is get these hens out of cages,' Oberg said. Article content The industry has acknowledged the problem and says it is trying to abolish such practices. Article content Egg Farmers Canada wrote in a blog post, 'Canadian egg farmers are actively phasing out conventional hen housing and moving to other systems like enriched colony, free run and free range housing. It's part of our industry's efforts to plan for the future and think long-term.' Article content Gereen Anderson, another volunteer at the protest, began learning about the atrocities inflicted on animals four years ago.
Global News
4 hours ago
- Global News
Ceremony held for RCAF pilot killed in Cape Breton crash while training in 1944
According to his Royal Canadian Air Force service records, 21-year-old Pilot Officer Bill Bennet was a fine airman. Described as tall and wiry, his commanding officer noted in March 1944 that the Montreal man was also 'enthusiastic and intelligent.' And as the Second World War in Europe entered its final phase that summer, Bennet was made a staff pilot at the RCAF station in Summerside, P.E.I., where he started training to fly reconnaissance aircraft or bombers. On Aug. 6, 1944, Bennet was tasked with flying a twin-engine Avro Anson V training aircraft carrying two navigators and one radio operator. Their routine mission that Sunday was to fly east from Summerside to a point over the Gulf of St. Lawrence north of Cape Breton in Nova Scotia and then return. But something went wrong over the water. The aircraft was well south of where it should have been. And as it entered a thick bank of fog, Bennett began a descent that he hoped would bring the plane below the haze. Story continues below advertisement Instead of emerging above the vast gulf, the aircraft suddenly plowed through a stand of small trees. Its wings, tail and one engine were torn off as it slammed into the side of Jerome Mountain on the western edge of Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Bennet was badly injured, having suffered a fractured skull. Incredibly, the other three men had only minor wounds. Given the steep, rough terrain, it wasn't until the next afternoon that a search party reached the remote crash site northeast of the Acadian village of Cheticamp, N.S. The searchers were told Bennet had died during the night. 2:26 RCAF celebrates 100 years in the sky The three survivors — 20-year-old navigator John Robert Ogilvie and 22-year-old navigator William John Astle, both of Edmonton, and 22-year-old communications officer Jack Roy Burke of Wallaceburg, Ont. — managed to hike down the mountain by late Monday. But it would take another day before Bennet's body could be recovered. Story continues below advertisement Jeff Noakes, Second World War historian at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, said an RCAF inquiry later found the plane's compass wasn't working properly. As well, he said investigators determined the navigators and the pilot weren't communicating as well as they should have been. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'The RCAF ultimately concluded that they weren't 100 per cent sure why there was an error in the navigation,' Noakes said in an interview. On Saturday, more than 80 years after the crash, a non-profit group based in Cheticamp — Les Amis du Plein Air — held a public ceremony to unveil two commemorative panels at a campsite in the shadow of the mountain. Among those in the crowd of about 50 people was one of Bennet's nephews, 63-year-old Bill Bennet of Ottawa, who was named after his late uncle. He said it was important for him and his two children, Liam and Nora, to travel to Cape Breton to be part of the unveiling. 'My son is 21,' Bill Bennet said, his voice cracking with emotion as he recalled his uncle was the same age when he died. 'I want to make them aware of our family's connection to the war and what that means. It's also a chance to connect with the people of Cheticamp … about the efforts (their ancestors) made to rescue these men in this very rugged terrain …. I think of the sacrifice of my uncle, but there are so many more people involved in this whole story.' Story continues below advertisement 2:52 Remembering the Canadian general who helped secure Dutch freedom during WWII Bill Bennet's 65-year-old brother Doug, who travelled from Toronto with his wife Nancy and their children Nathan and Eliza, said his uncle's tragic story illustrates the sacrifices made by those who took part in the British Commonwealth Air Training Program, often described as among Canada's most important contributions to the war effort. By the end of the war, the program had graduated more than 131,000 pilots, observers, flight engineers and other aircrew for the air forces of Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. More than half joined the RCAF. It was often dangerous work. In all, 856 trainees were killed, though some sources suggest the number is much higher. 'It was a huge cost,' Doug Bennet said before the ceremony began. 'And they were almost all in their late teens and early 20s.' Story continues below advertisement Erin Gregory, curator at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, said most Canadians are more familiar with the sacrifices made overseas during the Second World War. 'It's important to mark this moment of service and sacrifice at home, which is at least as important as what happened overseas,' Gregory said. 'As part of the war effort, it was extremely important and it was dangerous.'
Toronto Star
5 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Ceremony held for RCAF pilot killed in Cape Breton crash while training in 1944
HALIFAX - According to his Royal Canadian Air Force service records, 21-year-old Pilot Officer Bill Bennet was a fine airman. Described as tall and wiry, his commanding officer noted in March 1944 that the Montreal man was also 'enthusiastic and intelligent.' And as the Second World War in Europe entered its final phase that summer, Bennet was made a staff pilot at the RCAF station in Summerside, P.E.I., where he started training to fly reconnaissance aircraft or bombers.
