, 2010 bravely before being forced to members of bomber, transport, surrender on Christmas Day. reconnaisance and fighter Approximately 290 Canadians squadrons. Ontario’s Leonard were killed and almost 500 Birchall was even dubbed “the wounded. The survivors’ ordeal Saviour of Ceylon” by British was just beginning. Over the Prime Minister Winston next four years, 267 more would Churchill after detecting the die as a result of malnutrition, Japanese invasion fleet sailing beatings by prison guards and for the island of Ceylon (now forced labour. Ronald Routledge known as Sri Lanka). His of Saskatchewan was there: plane was shot down, but not before the crew had radioed a “Well, I went down to a hundred warning that helped the Allies pounds, you know. I was maybe repel the attack. a hundred and eighty odd pounds Photo: LAC PA-114811 when I was my normal weight, Japan surrendered on Canadian and British prisoners of war in Hong Kong awaiting but I was down to about a August 15, 1945, after atomic liberation by landing party from HMCS Prince Robert. hundred pounds.” bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. During the Second World War, approximately 10,000 Many other Canadians also saw V-J (Victory over Japan) Day Canadians served in Asia. Almost 2,000 soldiers from action in Asia during the war, marked the end of years of Manitoba’s Winnipeg Grenadiers and Quebec’s Royal Rifles including thousands of Royal fighting in the Second World of Canada set sail for Hong Kong in late October 1941 to help Canadian Air Force airmen who War. The Canadian POWs defend the British Crown Colony. The Japanese invaded on served in the Burma Campaign were finally liberated and December 8, 1941. Badly outnumbered, the defenders fought as radar operators and returned home. Photo: Public Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador VA37-1-3 Newfoundland Regiment soldiers in front line trenches in Gallipoli. When Britain declared war in August 1914, Newfoundland, which was a colony of Britain at the time, The Canadian Navy was founded in 1910. responded quickly by recruiting its At the outbreak of the First World War, the first 1,000 men for overseas service. Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) only had two ships and fewer than 350 men. It would In September 1915, the play such roles as controlling shipping 1st Newfoundland Regiment landed in Canadian ports, performing radio- on Turkey’s Gallipoli peninsula, telegraph services and undertaking mine joining British, Australian and New sweeping and patrolling operations during Zealand troops. Gallipoli would the war. be the Newfoundlanders’ first experience of the horrors of trench The Second World War saw the RCN warfare—artillery fire, snipers, great grow greatly and play an important role in cold and disease caused by living in the Battle of the Atlantic — the struggle Photo: DND HS2008-J018-006 such harsh conditions. The regiment between the Allied navies, who needed to HMCS Charlottetown serving in the Arabian Sea in 2008. also earned its first battle honour maintain the vital flow of war materials when they captured “Caribou Hill” from North America to Europe, and the guard against amphibious landings, protect and have served with North Atlantic in November. They covered the German U-boats (submarines) that wanted aircraft carriers, bombard coastal areas and Treaty Organization (NATO) forces over withdrawal of Allied troops from the to cut off that supply. By the end of the war, assist isolated fishing villages. the years. The Canadian Navy tradition of region, being among the last to leave Canada had the third-largest navy in the service continues today, whether guarding in January 1916. Approximately 40 world with 434 vessels and 95,000 men and With the unification of the Canadian our coasts, watching for smuggling, Newfoundlanders had died, a taste women in uniform. military in the late 1960s, the RCN became undertaking sovereignty operations in of the great casualties the regiment the sea arm of the Canadian Forces. Our the North, or patrolling the waters off would soon suffer on the Western During the Korean War, eight Canadian ships patrolled Canada’s shores during the Southwest Asia in the fight against Front. destroyers helped blockade the enemy coast, Cold War, watching for Soviet submarines, terrorism. One of the most dangerous routes From 1941 to 1945, more than forty sailed by the Merchant Navy during convoys sailed, transporting millions the Second World War was the of tons of supplies, such as aircraft, notorious Murmansk Run. Despite tanks, jeeps, locomotives, flatcars, guns, constant German attack and extreme ammunition, fuel and millions of pairs weather conditions, supplies were of boots. These supplies allowed the shipped to the Arctic port of Soviet Union to continue fighting Murmansk to assist the Soviet Union Germany on the Eastern Front, in it’s fight against Germany. It was so thus preventing the Germans from dangerous that if a ship was sunk, the concentrating all their forces against survivors could not be rescued. the Allies in the West. The liberation of the Netherlands offensive to a halt. That winter was a was a big hush over all the people and during the Second World War is one terrible time for the Dutch—food and it was suddenly broken by a big scream, of the most famous chapters in our fuel supply reserves were gone; people as if it was out of the earth. And the country’s military heritage. In late ate tulip bulbs and scavenged through people climbed on the tank . and 1944 and early 1945, the Canadians garbage to survive. Thousands starved they were crying. And we were running battled to push the Germans from the or froze to death. with the tanks and the jeeps all the way country they had occupied since the into the city.” spring of 1940. With its challenging Early in the new year, the push began terrain of canals, dikes and floodlands, to finally liberate the country. The Helping liberate the Netherlands was the Netherlands was a tough place to Canadian troops were cheered as one a proud achievement for our country, fight. town after another was freed. It was but one that came at a great cost. More a memorable period, as one Dutch than 7,600 Canadians died in the Photo: LAC PA-140417 After opening battles in the fall teenager at the time recalled: “As the effort. Dutch civilians celebrating liberation of Utrecht by units of 1944, bad weather brought the (Canadian) tank came nearer . there of the 1st Canadian Corps. 2 NEWS C anada Remembe rs Times In the years following the Korean War, The “Medak Pocket” was a portion of Canada developed a well-deserved Croatia that was then under Serbian reputation for taking part in United control. The Croats had launched an Nations (UN) peacekeeping efforts offensive to take the area and heavy fighting around the world. Peacekeeping broke out. A cease-fire was arranged, with involves sending impartial troops into a UN forces overseeing the withdrawal of war-torn area after a cease-fire has been both sides. Canadian and French soldiers negotiated to prevent new fighting began to move in but Croatian forces began breaking out. firing on the Canadians. The Patricias bravely repelled many attacks and held their In the early 1990s, the Eastern position despite being pounded with heavy European country of Yugoslavia was machine gun fire, grenades, cannons and torn apart by ethnic and religious small arms fire. The next morning, despite differences and civil war erupted. another cease-fire, the Croats still prevented Atrocities were committed against UN troops from entering the pocket. civilians on all sides. The UN sent in forces to try to contain the worst The Canadian commander held an of the violence, but fighting was still impromptu press conference in front of going on. In September 1993, the their roadblock to show the world what Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light they were doing, forcing the Croats to Photo: DND Infantry serving in the UN forces open the road. Tragically, the UN forces found themselves in the middle of the found the ethnically Serbian villages in the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group - CANBAT 1 - Croatia 1993 heaviest firefight a Canadian unit had Medak Pocket destroyed and many civilians then experienced since the Korean War. killed—the victims of “ethnic cleansing.” In the early morning hours It took the collective efforts of all of October 14, Canadians, at home and overseas, 1942, the ferry to help the Allies achieve victory SS Caribou was in the Second World War. on its way from Cape Breton to With so many young men in Newfoundland uniform, women were called with 237 people upon to take up jobs that had on board, many Photo: Cassie Brown Collection, Coll 115. Archives and Special Collections, Memorial University. Queen Elizabeth II Library, been traditionally done by of them civilians. Survivors of the SS Caribou. October 14, 1942. men. This included important The dark night manufacturing jobs to produce was lit up when the ferry was hit by a nurse to be killed due to enemy action the materials so desperately torpedo from a German U-boat. The during the war. Her colleague Margaret needed for the war effort. One explosion threw people from their bunks Brooke was named a Member of the example was the Pictou Shipyards and they rushed to get off the sinking Order of the British Empire for her in northern Nova Scotia. ship. Several lifeboats were damaged or brave efforts to save her good friend. Approximately 700 women could not be launched, so many were picked up hammers, wrenches forced to jump into the cold water.