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On Guard In Jamaica Mary Bingham of Alexandria, Ont., shares photos taken by her late father Lloyd Henry McHugh who joined the Brockville Rifles and served during the Second World War. His unit arrived in Jamaica in the summer of 1944, and according to the official history of the Brockville Rifles, the unit’s purpose there was fourfold: 1) To be ready for operational duty 2) to assist in training local forces 3) to provide the perimeter guard for the internment camp 4) to provide aid to the civil power. These photos were taken while he was a guard at an internment camp in Jamaica. A German prisoner strolls around the inside perimeter of the internment camp. Lloyd Henry McHugh (standing, right) and some other lads pose for a photo at the camp. While not on guard dut...

True Wartime Service: A Family Story Russell, John, Wilfred, Lawrence, Eric and Harold. What do these lads have in common? Well, let’s start with their last name—True. All six boys—the sons of Henry and Bertha True of Ottawa—served Canada in time of war. One of them—Wilfred—made the ultimate sacrifice during the Normandy Campaign in the Second World War. In all, Henry and Bertha had 16 children; 11 sons and five daughters. Two of their sons died within the first year of birth. In addition to the six who served, the Trues had three other boys who were deemed medically unfit for military service. First to join the military was Russell, in early 1941. When he left home, he was 22 years old and his young wife was pregnant. Russell’s service with the Royal Canadian Engi...

Posing on the wing of a Supermarine Walrus...in Yarmouth, N.S. John Harwood of Brighton, Ont., shares a wartime photo taken in Yarmouth, N.S. His father-in-law, Robert Jamieson, is in the photo, but unidentified. Robert went by his middle name Lionel and served in the air force, but there are also navy personnel in the photo. “My wife came upon the photo among her late father’s belongings. John believes Lionel served in a maritime anti-submarine reconnaissance squadron, which was based in Yarmouth during the Second World War... I thought this might be of historical interest to some of your readers. ” Air force historian Hugh A. Halliday kindly identified the aircraft type and believes the photo was taken at No. 1 Naval Air Gunners School in Yarmouth. We thank John and his wife f...

Training days in Western Canada, the face of a young private, and a telegram announcing an upcoming visit to North Bay, Ont. Cheryl Oattes of Brantford, Ont., shares two photos and a telegram from her father’s time in the Second World War. Cheryl says her father, Les Scott, joined the Canadian Army in the summer of 1943 at age 18. After training in Dundurn, Sask., he travelled by troop train to Halifax for deployment overseas. While travelling through Ontario, the young private wondered if he might be able to say a quick hello to his older sister and her family who lived in North Bay, Ont. He mentioned to his sergeant that he had not seen his sister in years. “Dad expected to wave and say hello from the train, but his sergeant arranged for the train to stop for a few minutes ...