HISTORICPHOTOBLOG Archives - Legion Magazine

13Aug 2021

By Stephen J. ThorneNo Comments

Blog, HISTORICPHOTOBLOG

A monumental day

The unveiling of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France on July 26, 1936, was witnessed by 3,000 veterans of the battle On July 26, 1936, 11 years and $1.5 million after construction began, 100,000 people gathered on the slopes of Vimy Ridge in France for the unveiling of one of the most striking war memorials in all of Europe. The Canadian National Vimy Memorial, designed by Toronto’s Walter Allward, stands at the crest of the ridge where some say the nation was born—an imposing memorial to more than 11,285 Canadians who died with no known grave in France during the Great War. A monument to peace, it is the centrepiece of a 91-hectare battlefield park at the site where all four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force fought together for the first time—and won where other...

23Jun 2021

By Sharon AdamsNo Comments

HISTORICPHOTOBLOG, Military History

Victory March

London hosted a formal — and boisterous—celebration on the first anniversary of the end of the Second World War A year after the Second World War ended, Britain threw a proper celebration, one that the whole country—civilians as well as the men and women who had served overseas—could enjoy together. And what a party it was. More than five million people crowded the sidewalks and streets of London and choked The Mall to take part in daylong celebrations on June 8, 1946. The crowd included visitors from all over the world. They started gathering before daylight to claim good positions along the parade route. At 10 a.m. an open carriage carrying the Royal Family slowly proceeded from Buckingham Palace to the reviewing stand on The Mall, where military commanders and heads of state ...

1Mar 2021

By Sharon AdamsNo Comments

HISTORICPHOTOBLOG, Military History, Pictorial

Into the Fire

As the Korean winter gave way to an early spring and UN forces pushed slowly but steadily north, the PPCLI were sorely tested in mountain fighting, ambushes and Chinese hit-and-run attacks NORTH KOREA, supported by the Soviet Union and China, invaded South Korea in June 1950. Canada answered the United Nations’ call to support South Korea. The 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, arrived in December 1950, joining the ground war after eight weeks of training in mountain warfare and small unit tactics. The Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) and the Royal 22nd Regiment (Van Doos) followed later. The war was one of continual patrols and a series of fierce battles to take or retain strategic hilltops. Ambush and fighting patrols were called ‘snatch’ and ‘jitter’ pat...