JULY 1, 1934
Commodore Percy W. Nelles becomes the first Canadian-born Chief of the Naval Staff.

JULY 2, 1885
The Northwest Rebellion ends with the surrender of Big Bear, and with it, the nomadic life of the Cree.

JULY 3, 1944
Four Canadian motor torpedo boats attack a German convoy off St. Malo, France, sinking two ships.

JULY 3-4, 1944
War correspondent Matthew Halton reports “fields red with blood and poppies” at Carpiquet Airfield near Caen, France.

July 5, 1900
At Wolve Spruit, South Africa, Sgt. A.H.L. Richardson rides through heavy fire to rescue a comrade; he is awarded the Victoria Cross.

JULY 6, 1942
Anne Frank’s family goes into hiding in the attic of an Amsterdam warehouse.

JULY 7, 1967
The first recipients of the Order of Canada are announced.

JULY 8, 1892
Nearly 11,000 are homeless and most businesses in ruins after fire destroys St. John’s.

JULY 9, 1944
Caen is liberated by the 3rd Canadian Division.

JULY 10, 1943
The 1st Canadian Division is among Allied forces landing in Sicily.

JULY 11, 1915
In German East Africa, Sub-Lieutenant Harold James Arnold directs naval gunfire until his aircraft ditches. He is awarded the Distinguished Service Order.

JULY 12, 1812
Invading American General William Hull is chased back to Detroit.

JULY 13, 1943
Warrant Officer James Kunz, of Saskatchewan, is among a glider tug’s crew lost while dropping parachutists to capture a Sicilian bridge.

JULY 14, 1976
Canada abolishes the death penalty.

JULY 15, 1870
The Hudson’s Bay Company transfers Rupert’s Land—a quarter of the continent—to Canada; price: $1.5 million.

JULY 16, 1812
James Hancock is killed, the first British casualty of the War of 1812.

JULY 17, 1940
HMCS Skeena rescues 65 survivors of the SS Manipur, sunk by a U-boat north of Scotland.

JULY 18, 1925
Mein Kampf, Adolph Hitler’s blueprint for the Third Reich, is published.

JULY 19, 1947
A scientific mission to find the magnetic North Pole takes off from RCAF Station Rockcliffe in Ottawa.

JULY 20, 1963
The RCAF transports a scientific mission to record a total eclipse of the sun in Central Canada.

JULY 21, 1955
In France, Flight Lieutenant R.G. Morgan and Aircraftman 1st Class H.J. Waters stand on a wing containing a fuel tank to pull the pilot from a burning RCAF jet. They are awarded the George Medal.

JULY 22, 1940
No. 5 Elementary Flying Training School officially opens in Lethbridge, Alta.

Members of the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service drill on the parade square at HMCS Conestoga in 1943.

JULY 24, 1917
Conscription becomes law, despite French-Canadian opposition; riots follow in Quebec.

JULY 25, 1928
Camp Shilo is formally established near Sewell, Man.

JULY 26, 1936
King Edward VIII unveils the Canadian National Vimy Memorial near Arras, France.

JULY 27, 1929
The Geneva Convention, dealing with treatment of prisoners of war, is signed by 53 nations.

JULY 28, 1914
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, beginning the First World War.

JULY 29, 1883
Second World War despot Benito Mussolini is born in Dovia di Predappio, Italy.

JULY 30, 1948
Gallantry awards are given to RCAF members for the first time since the Second World War.

JULY 31, 1942
Depth charges from HMCS Skeena and HMCS Wetaskiwin sink U-588 in the North Atlantic.

August On This Date Events

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The items will appear August 1. Here’s a taste of what to expect.

AUGUST 8, 1918
Canada’s Hundred Days begins with the Battle of Amiens, a surprise advance of 19 kilometres in three days, the first of many successes.