Facebook-f Twitter Youtube Podcast
SUBSCRIBE NOW
SUBSCRIBE NOW
SHOP
Image is not available
A Black soldier at the Somme
James Munroe Franklin was among the first Black Canadians to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and, six months before the Americans joined the fight, he is believed to be the first Black North American killed in action in the First World War.
READ MORE
Image is not available
The Battle of the St. Lawrence
In May 1942, the houses of a fishing village on the north shore of the Gaspé Peninsula were rocked so violently residents believed there had been an earthquake.
READ MORE
Image is not available
Choose our cover for the July/August issue of Legion Magazine!
Help choose the July/August cover of Legion Magazine! The next issue of Legion Magazine includes a soaring profile of the female pilots who flew air force planes during the Second World War. It also includes the heartbreaking story of Lieutenant William Doane, who was killed in the Battle of the Somme. That and much more! Cast your vote, give us your opinion and share with your friends on social media!
READ MORE
Image is not available
Tales my grandfather told me: Memories of memories of the Somme
It’s been more than a century and still the words ‘The Somme’ resonate with Canadians who grew up with a grumpy old granddad or family lore surrounding a strapping young man who fought in one of history’s most notorious battles.
READ MORE
Image is not available
A positive impression
In May 2007, on the green and peaceful banks of the Una River in Bihac, Bosnia-Herzegovina, a memorial was dedicated to members of the Canadian Armed Forces who served and died in the wars that followed the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia in 1991.
READ MORE
Image is not available
Military selects new uniform camo
It seems like yesterday when the Canadian military last unveiled a new camouflage pattern uniform. Their pixelated look, known as the Canadian Disruptive Pattern, or CADPAT, was computer-designed to reduce the likelihood of detection by night-vision equipment as well as the naked eye.
READ MORE
Image is not available
Empresses of the transpacific fleet
On April 28, 1891, Canadian Pacific’s Royal Mail Ship Empress of India completed its maiden voyage. It had sailed from Liverpool, across the Mediterranean, through the Suez Canal, across the Indian and Pacific oceans, and arrived in Vancouver.
READ MORE
Image is not available
Sighted sub, sank same
The battlefields of Europe were thousands of kilometres away, but Newfoundland and Labrador were definitely in a war zone during the Second World War.
READ MORE
previous arrow
next arrow
Slider

Do you qualify for disability coverage or a pension?

The 2021 guide includes helpful, up-to-date information on eligibility, applying, coverage + Much More!
FREE for all veterans and their families!
Download in English
Download in French
front lines
Defence Today
A Black soldier at the Somme
James Munroe Franklin was among the first Black Canadians to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and, six months before...
Defence Today
Tales my grandfather told me: Memories of memories of the Somme
It’s been more than a century and still the words ‘The Somme’ resonate with Canadians who grew up with a...
Defence Today
Military selects new uniform camo
It seems like yesterday when the Canadian military last unveiled a new camouflage pattern uniform. Their pixelated look, known as...
Defence Today
So long, Matthew Fisher, Canada’s most-travelled warco
He could be blunt, bombastic and cringingly irreverent. He was also smart, generous, and always, always interesting. Like virtually all...
Defence Today
Frank Hurley: Adventurer and war photographer
You may not know the name Frank Hurley but you almost certainly know at least some of his pictures. Hurley...
Defence Today
Art of the war horse
Mercifully, the First World War was the last major confrontation in which horses played a major role.  British cavalry were among...
Defence Today
Bird strike caused fatal Snowbirds crash, report confirms
A single small bird brought down a Canadian Snowbirds demonstration aircraft last year after it was sucked into the plane’s...
Defence Today
Declassified documents shed new light on notorious sinking of USS Thresher
At 8 a.m. on April 9, 1963, USS Thresher (SSN-593), the lead boat in its class of nuclear-powered attack submarines,...
Defence Today
The new Space Jam: General calls for traffic cops in crowded orbit
  The head of United States space operations is seeking new ways to manage the traffic jam of satellites and...
Defence Today
A harder line against China is needed
A harder line against China is needed
Defence Today
Changed forever by war
Changed forever by war
Defence Today
Snakes on a chopper: Vietnam vets tell harrowing serpentine tales
“Any veterans out there run into snakes while serving?” Thus began a thread on Facebook’s “Vietnam: Helicopter War” page that...
Vertical-Ad-new-7-v1
MEMOIRS
Letters to Mom
During the Second World War, 21-year-old Allan Coburn was one...
Cross Border Doctor
It can be extraordinary who and what you will find...
Pépère’s war story
Hormidas Odilon (Henry) Goulet enlisted with the 22nd Battalion in...
Battlefield doctor
My great-great-grandfather was a surgeon who treated soldiers at the...
Canada’s man in Havana
The story of a young Canadian diplomat spying on the...
Buried alive at the Somme
When I was a young child of four or five,...
My dad, the air force doctor
The nooks and crannies of my parents’ red-brick house in Halifax...
The Silent Ward
The author was a nurse in the First World War....
Not all Veterans wore uniforms
Story by Brian Purdy Son of Gordon Purdy Through the...
Tears of Remembrance
At the first strains of the anthem, backs straightened and...
Remembrance
On Remembrance Day or, for a naval veteran, Battle of...
The search for an old contemptible
It all started with a random tweet. My first inclination...
MILITARY HISTORY
Military History
The Battle of the St. Lawrence
The Battle of the St. Lawrence
In May 1942, the houses of a fishing village on the north shore of the Gaspé Peninsula were rocked so violently residents believed there had been an earthquake. But it was a different sort of ground-shaking event: the beginning of...
Military History
A positive impression
A positive impression
In May 2007, on the green and peaceful banks of the Una River in Bihac, Bosnia-Herzegovina, a memorial was dedicated to members of the Canadian Armed Forces who served and died in the wars that followed the disintegration of the...
Military History
Empresses of the transpacific fleet
Empresses of the transpacific fleet
On April 28, 1891, Canadian Pacific’s Royal Mail Ship Empress of India completed its maiden voyage. It had sailed from Liverpool, across the Mediterranean, through the Suez Canal, across the Indian and Pacific oceans, and arrived in Vancouver. It had...
Military History
With the guns in the Second Battle of Ypres
With the guns in the Second Battle of Ypres
In 1915, Canadian troops moved to the Ypres Salient in Belgium. The Germans wanted very much to get rid of the bulge into their territory, and used a new weapon hoping to dislodge British, Canadian and French troops. “We saw...
Military History
Canadian summer in Apeldoorn
Canadian summer in Apeldoorn
In five weeks of bloody battles to boot the Germans out of the Scheldt Estuary in October and November of 1944, the Allies suffered about 13,000 casualties, including about 6,300 Canadians. And the fighting was expected to be just as...
Military History
Witnessing genocide
Witnessing genocide
In late 1993, Canadian General Roméo Dallaire was tasked to head a force of 2,500 United Nations peacekeepers sent to Rwanda to help implement a peace accord. It was intended to end three years of civil war between the Hutus...
HEALTH
Research on family matters
Research on family matters
In May, Canadians will be...
Looking for a good night’s sleep
Looking for a good night’s sleep
Looking for a good night’s...
Medical Advances Behind the Line, Part 1
Medical Advances Behind the Line, Part 1
The First World War spurred...
Pain centre
Pain centre
In 2014, in physical agony...
Help for those living with concussion
Help for those living with concussion
The long days and nights...
A military response to the pandemic
A military response to the pandemic
Truly, the Canadian Armed Forces has...
Legion Magazine
1/6 videos
1
The Fall of Hong Kong | Narrated by Stephen J. Thorne
The Fall of Hong Kong | Narrated by Stephen J. Thorne
2
Canadians in the Battle of Britain | Narrated by Stephen J. Thorne
Canadians in the Battle of Britain | Narrated by Stephen J. Thorne
3
Canadians in the Battle of Britain | Narrated by Stephen J. Thorne
Canadians in the Battle of Britain | Narrated by Stephen J. Thorne
4
Liberation of the Netherlands | Narrated by Roméo Dallaire
Liberation of the Netherlands | Narrated by Roméo Dallaire
5
William Shatner | Battle of Vimy Ridge
William Shatner | Battle of Vimy Ridge
6
The Dieppe Raid | Narrated by Alex Trebek
The Dieppe Raid | Narrated by Alex Trebek
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL
NEWS
Kyle Scott: The medals man
Kyle Scott: The medals man
Kyle Scott is an ex-combat engineer and Afghanistan veteran who has made acquiring medals for those who have earned them his labour of love. He is the go-to purveyor of...
Family mental health support
Family mental health support
The Veterans Ombudsperson has urged Veterans Affairs Canada to further reduce restrictions on mental health support for veterans’ families. “We believe that family members of veterans deserve access to funded mental...
Panellists condemn sexual misconduct and extremism in military
Panellists condemn sexual misconduct and extremism in military
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan joined a chorus of in-house critics at the Ottawa Conference on Security and Defence in March, calling sexual misconduct allegations plaguing the military “deeply troubling” and promising...
Panel to report on racism
Panel to report on racism
On Dec. 17, the Department of National Defence announced the creation of an advisory panel to report on systemic racism and discrimination in the ranks of the Canadian Armed Forces....
Choose our cover for the July/August issue of <em>Legion Magazine</em>!
Choose our cover for the July/August issue of Legion Magazine!
Help choose the July/August issue of Legion Magazine! The next issue of Legion Magazine includes a soaring profile of the female pilots who flew air force planes during the Second World War. It...
Sombre coverage
Sombre coverage
The Legionary cover headline in September 1939 was sombre—Canada at War—and the words ‘The Fighting Man’s Magazine’ were added to the masthead.   The magazine’s coverage now included Legion programs...
VAC advised to expect a surge in backlogged claims
VAC advised to expect a surge in backlogged claims
VAC expects a surge in backlogged claims
Sexual misconduct settlement claims deadline is Nov. 24
Sexual misconduct settlement claims deadline is Nov. 24
Sexual misconduct settlement claims deadline is Nov. 24
Heroes And Villains
Sophie Scholl and Roland Freisler
Sophie Scholl and Roland Freisler
Sophie Scholl & Roland Freisler
Face to Face
Was it right to commute Kurt Meyer’s death sentence for killing Canadian PoWs?
Was it right to commute Kurt Meyer’s death sentence for killing Canadian PoWs?
Was it right to commute Kurt Meyer’s death sentence for killing Canadian PoWs?
Face to Face
Are there 98 Canadian VCs?
Are there 98 Canadian VCs?
It is hard to say exactly how many “Canadians” have been awarded the Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth’s highest award for valour in the face of the enemy. As an editor with Legion Magazine, we usually just say safely, “nearly 100.”...
Heroes And Villains
HEROES AND VILLAINS: Syngman Rhee vs Kim Il-sung
HEROES AND VILLAINS: Syngman Rhee vs Kim Il-sung
Hero: Syngman Rhee “The new UN proposal is unacceptable to this government.…We can no longer survive a stalemate of division.” —Syngman Rhee on June 6, 1953, stating his opposition to peace talks between the UN, the North Korea People’s Army and...
Face to Face
Face to Face | Was All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) the most important war film ever made?
Face to Face | Was All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) the most important war film ever made?
All Quiet on the Western Front is an Academy Award-winning 1930 film based on the classic anti-war novel by a German veteran of the First World War, Erich Maria Remarque. Coming 12 years after the First World War ended and...
Face to Face
Should the James Cross kidnappers have been granted safe passage to Cuba?
Should the James Cross kidnappers have been granted safe passage to Cuba?
In the early morning hours of Dec. 3, 1970, dozens of police officers and heavily armed soldiers surrounded a modest dwelling in Montreal North where, for nearly two months, British diplomat James Cross had been held hostage by a gang of...

Follow Us on Twitter

FRONT LINES PODCAST

latest episode

View all episodes >

Front Lines is a weekly podcast produced by Legion Magazine, Canada’s leading military history publication. Join writer Stephen J. Thorne each week for fascinating stories and compelling commentary on Canada’s rich military past and present.

subscribe to our podcast

Sign up to the e-newsletter today

Get the latest stories on military history, veterans issues and Canadian Armed Forces delivered to your inbox. PLUS receive ReaderPerks discounts!

Sign up now

Legion Magazine engages Canadians in commemorating the effort, bravery and sacrifice of those who served and continue to serve in Canada’s military. From the War of 1812 to modern armed forces missions around the world, Legion Magazine offers a blend of stories, photographs, graphics, maps and posters on Canadian military history and heritage, veterans’ issues and the Canadian Armed Forces. Legion Magazine is published six times a year in English with a French insert. Legion Magazine is published by Canvet Publications Ltd.

Facebook Twitter Youtube Podcast
© 2020 Legion Magazine. All rights reserved.
Terms and Conditions
Privacy Policy
Disclaimer
Subscribe Now for $18.98 / 2 years
Facebook-f Twitter Youtube Podcast

Sign up today for a FREE download of Canada’s War Stories

Free e-book

An informative primer on Canada’s crucial role in the Normandy landing, June 6, 1944.

Download now