Looking back some seventy five years it is truly amazing how a chance encounter between two people in Mildenhall, Suffolk, England, during World War II would eventually effect in such a positive way the small town of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia

Elsie and Knowles Crosby

The Wartime Generation

Index of Stories and Articles World War II

The convoy of June 25th encountered enemy submarine attacks and three ships were lost. The City of Venice and the St. Essylt were lost on July 4, 1943, and MV Devis on July 5. Fifty-eight Canadians were lost in the attacks …

The Italian Campaign

The Convoys - WWII

The small town of Yarmouth, and the villages of the Municipality of Yarmouth, NS located in the south western part of Nova Scotia was very much a part of the wartime contribution between 1939 and 1945 …

Yarmouth’s Wartime History

(1939-1945)

Land for the main runway, from Starr’s Road south west past Forest Street, through to Argyle Street had been purchased as early as 1939. Clearing of land began shortly after purchase and the construction of the airport continued up to 1942 when the last two hangars were completed.

RCAF Station Yarmouth

World War II

RCAF Yarmouth (West Camp) was located nearest to the town on the west side of the airport and was a Royal Canadian Air Force airbase established for anti-Submarine Bomber Reconnaissance squadrons.

RCAF Station Yarmouth

(West Camp) - WWII

East Camp was home to #34 OTU (Operational Training Unit) Royal Air Force (1942) and was used for training Telegraphist Air Gunners, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

RCAF Station Yarmouth - WWII

East Camp and the

Telegraphist Air Gunners

The Loss of SS Caribou

October 14, 1942

The night of October 13 was dark and moonless as the SS Caribou made its way from North Sydney, Cape Breton, to Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. The ship departed North Sydney at 9:30 pm …

The Loss of the HMCS Otter March 26, 1941

On 26 March, 1941, HMCS Otter, an escort ship, was to rendezvous with the Royal Navy Submarine Talisman and escort it into Halifax. The waves were ten feet at a Force 6 with intermittent rain …

The Loss of the Liner Ettrick November 15, 1942

The Ettrick was one of the troop transport ships used by the allies in the Operation Torch. Having successfully landed the troops, the fleet of liners encountered U- boats attacks …

The Young Merchant Mariners M/S Høegh Silverdawn

On the moonless blustery night in June, 1943, the M/S Høegh Silverdawn, steamed at 13 knots through choppy waters of the Indian Ocean off the Cocas (Keeling) Islands …

M/S Høegh Silverdawn

The Loss of the SS Torondoc Remembering Joseph Cottreau

On May 21, 1942 the ship was moving unescorted sixty miles north west of Martinique with a cargo of bauxite on route from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands to Trinidad …

The Loss of SS Western Head May 28, 1942

The unescorted SS Western Head was approximately fifty miles east of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba sailing from Kingston, Jamaica to Montreal, in Canada with a cargo of raw sugar.

The Operation began in the late evening hours of August 18th, 1942 with the hope it would boost morale and show a commitment of the United Kingdom to open a western front in Europe

Remembering Dieppe

August 19, 1942

The Fall of Hong Kong

Nova Scotia Casualties

As part of the defence force of the British Colony of Hong Kong, the Royal Rifles of Canada and the Winnipeg Grenadiers sailed from Vancouver on October 27, 1941.

Remembering

The Battle of the Atlantic

The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest running battle of the Second World War and is proudly remembered as a Canadian triumph in helping maintain the Allies' crucial supply routes through the North Atlantic.

Hundreds of planes flew from RCAF Station Yarmouth during WWII. Descriptions and photos of the planes of East and West Camp.

The Planes of RCAF Station

Yarmouth - WWII

An index page to the various air accidents of planes and personnel of RCAF Yarmouth during WWII

RCAF Station Yarmouth - WWII

Fatal Crashes

119 Squadron (Bomber Reconnaissance) RCAF, City of Hamilton Squadron was based at RCAF Station Yarmouth between July 21, 1940 and January 10, 1942.

119th Squadron

RCAF Station Yarmouth - WWII

My story begins in March 1942, two years and a half after WW2 started. We had our early days of Dunkirk, the phony war, the blitz, Battle of Britain and the start of Bomber Commands penetration into enemy territory.

G.J. (Gerry) Lyons #34 Operational Training Unit, Royal Air Force

This is the personal wartime record of Ronald Gaudet as it was written. For the reader who wants to know what it was like to serve during World War II, they will find it detailed and containing many stories and experiences of a RCAF pilot.

My Years in the

Royal Canadian Air Force

Ronald Gaudet

The wartime memories of 162 Squadron, the men and the planes they flew as presented by James (Jim) McRae

Wartime Memories

162 Squadron, RCAF

F/L James McRae

Private Harold E. Cox

Royal Hamilton Light Infantry

(1939-1945)

Remembering the

Liberation of the Netherlands

The Liberation of the Netherlands, from September 1944 - April 1945, played a key role in the culmination of the Second World War, as the Allied forces closed in on Germany from all sides.

The Loss of HMCS Ottawa September 13, 1942

On September 13/14, 1942 while escorting Convoy ON-127 930 km east of St. John's, Newfoundland, HMCS Ottawa was torpedoed by U-91. A Remembrance of the eleven crew from Nova Scotia who lost their lives

The Loss of SS Rose Castle November 2, 1942

On the morning of November 2, 1942, the SS Rose Castle was anchored off Bell Island, Conception Bay, Newfoundland waiting with other ore carrier merchant ships to sail with convoy WB-9. A Remembrance of the eleven crew from Nova Scotia who lost their lives.

The Button

On May 4, 2017 at a Remembrance Day Service in Hoogland, Netherlands, Maarten Boersen, shared his memory of a story told to him by his father.

Remembering D-Day

Canadians commemorate D-Day - the first day of the major Allied invasion of occupied France that led to the end of the Second World War.

Walking through the gates of the Ranville War Cemetery one is forced to face the true tragedy of war for here lies some 2,235 Commonwealth men of the Second World War. One stone bears the name of 21 years old Private Gordon Augustus Comeau.

Gordon Augustus Comeau

1st Canadian Parachute

Battalion

The Loss of HMCS Louisburg February 6, 1943

HMCS Louisburg left Glasgow for Algeria with convoy KMS-8 in mid January 1943. The day after leaving Gibraltar, on the afternoon of February 6, 1943 near Cape Tenes, Louisburg was attacked by two separate formations of German planes.

Photos from a wartime collection of Sherry Garvin. Her father Private Gilbert Bell served in “D” Company of the Algonquin Regiment and the Bugle Band of the Regiment. The photos are for the most part from his training time in Port Arthur, Ontario and Shilo, Manitoba.

The Algonquin Regiment

A Photo Collection

The Attack on HMS Liverpool June 14, 1942

HMS Liverpool sailed for the Mediterranean on June 5, 1942 for Operation Harpoon, a resupply convoy to Malta. Remembering Cyril James Clement.

SS Illinois US Merchant Freighter

On the night of June 2, 1942 the US Merchant Freighter, SS Illinois was steaming unescorted at ten knots about four hundred miles north-east of Puerto Rico.

Remembering the War Years

Arthur Joseph LeBlanc

Early on the morning of October 27, the ships were out into the mouth of the Mersey. By early morning the convoy was away from Liverpool, steaming south from the mouth of the Clyde. 24 ships had formed up in three columns. Of the 24 ships, nine were troop transports

on September 4th, Harold Cox joined the Sixth Anti-aircraft Battery which was based in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Approximately three hundred other young people from Yarmouth County volunteered to serve Canada on that same day.

Air Raid on Bournemouth May 23, 1943

The Luftwaffe carried out a bombing raid on May 23, 1943 against the town of Bournemouth in Dorset, England. The air attack destroyed 22 buildings and damaged over 3000 in central Bournemouth.

On Easter Sunday, April 1, 1945 the fleet carriers had flown off their first fighter strike when enemy aircraft were detected by radar seventy-five miles to the eastward, closing in on the fleet. Surgeon Lieut. Alan Vaughan was in Sick bay, located at the base of the superstructure on the main carrier deck …

Attack on HMS Indefatigable

April 1, 1945

On January 6, 1942, the West Nova Scotia Regiment was carrying out military manoeuvres on the River Adur, Shoreham- by-Sea, Sussex. A tragic accident occurred when an assault boat capsized in mid-stream and six men of ''B" Company were drowned.

River Adur, Shoreham-by-Sea,

Sussex (January 6, 1942)

With almost shattering suddenness our little village of Winton was engulfed by a military tidal wave. It’s quiet “off the map” atmosphere vanished in an instant as trucks swirled down the winding street engulfed the garages, and spilled a flood of khaki out on to the pavement.

The Canadian in England

“Engulfed by a Military Tidal

Wave”

Harrowing Adventures The Merchant Marines

Ernest Cleveland Forbes during a short visit home in 1943 related his harrowing adventures in the Merchant Navy.

George Egan - Able Seaman

HMS Thracian Royal Navy -

Hong Kong, December 1941

While researching the Fall of Hong Kong. I encountered the story of HMS Thracian. Among the casualty list was a twenty year old George Egan …

The Loss of HMCS Esquimalt April 16, 1945

On the evening of April 15, 1945,. HMCS Esquimalt departed Halifax on anti-submarine patrol in the harbour approaches, and to rendezvous with HMCS Sarnia (J309) …

“Even if we are isolated in person, we can still be united in spirit. As the War showed us so many years ago, we are all stronger than we think and however desperate things may seem today, remember that we can still be kind, we can still laugh… and we can still sing.”

Dame Vera Lynn

103rd Birthday Message

Following basic training and service in Canada, Phillip Blanchard was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Brigade, West Nova Scotia Regiment and was part of the allied advance through Italy. Sometime in the fall of 1943, Phillip wrote a letter home and enclosed a note to Herbert his godson who, at that time, was about five or six years of age.

A Note to Herbert

Momentary panic freezes your nerves as you fall in the turbulence of a shrieking gale. The earth is small below. Then comes a teeth chattering jolt as the parachute opens. Now the gale has subsided, floating like a summer cloud in the sky. You are thinking perhaps you have died and gone to heaven. Then the earth comes hurling up to meet you.

Henry Churchill

1st Canadian Parachute

Battalion

Herbet Thomas Deakin

HMS Thracian Royal Navy -

Hong Kong, December 1941

With the chaos that occurred in Hong Kong when the Colony surrendered to the Japanese on December 25, 1941 it is often difficult to determine the particular circumstances of an individual’s death. Sadly, such is the case of Herbert Deakin.

Wartime Heritage Association received a request via the Air Force Association of Canada from Craig Lees seeking to learn about the final resting place of his Uncle and Godfather Flight Officer Ed Welters.

Finding the Grave Site

of Pilot Officer Ed Welters

Jean Delaney

United States WAAC

Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps

For Jean Delaney, born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia but the pride of Lynn, Massachusetts, there was no such thing as a menial position, and her desire and joy to help in any way possible is apparent in the records she faithfully kept from her time in service.

George Churchill Kenney

United States Air Forces

George Churchill Kenney was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, during a summer vacation taken by his parents.

Annie Fox - 1st Woman

Awarded US Purple Heart

Annie Fox was born August 4, 1893 in Pubnico, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, to Doctor Charles James Fox, MD, and Deidamia “Annie” (Gayton) Fox.

The “Empire Industry”

Mae O’Brien and the

YMCA Red Triangle Club

It was late September, 1940, when Karl Baker of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, asked Mary (Mae) Brown O’Brien if she would be hostess of the new war canteen to be opened at the local YMCA. “I told him I had absolutely no experience but would be glad to help out in any way.”

Serving His Country Changed

His Life Forever

Harold Douglas Hines

One Week before Christmas in December 1944 was not the best of times for Harold Douglas Hines, of Central Argyle, Yarmouth County. At that time the 20-year-old became a casualty of war for the second time. He was only 19 the first time he was injured.

On Thursday, June 20, 1940, two Yarmouth fishermen towed a derelict lifeboat into Yarmouth harbour.

The Derelict Lifeboat

The Wreck of the “SS West Jaffrey”

On the cold winter night of February 8 , 1942, the freighter, SS West Jaffrey, moved along the coast of Nova Scotia. It travelled at eight or nine knots toward the port of Halifax, en route from New York, to join an Atlantic convoy going overseas.

Crash at Sea - July 16, 1942

Goose Bay, Yarmouth Co., NS

On the afternoon of Thursday July 16, 1942 several Wedgeport and Comeau’s Hill fisherman were in their boats gathering Irish moss near Goose Bay. Seeing an aircraft flying along the coast of Nova Scotia was not uncommon. On this occasion it was Lysander No.466 of 121 Composite Squadron (Dartmouth) out of RCAF Station Yarmouth, NS on a coastal patrol.

Crash of Vega Ventura AE 932

November 20, 1942

The fatal flight was en route from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia to RCAF Station Yarmouth when it crashed 4 miles north-east of Caledonia, Queens, Co., Nova Scotia.

Edward Saulnier

The War Years in the RCAF

When war was declared in 1939, Edward was 24 years old, married with two sons, a tradesman for some years and a painter and decorator.

The crew had encountered fog, head-winds, and storms during the voyage had crossed the Atlantic "roaming west," with only the thought in mind of reaching some point in America.

The “Bergholm” Arrives in

Yarmouth, June 1940

The Long Voyage Home

Jack and Kathleen Allan

On June 25, 1942 the Canadian External Affairs Department in Ottawa announced the twenty-eight names of Canadian nationals reported to have sailed from Japanese occupied Hong Kong, and various parts of China, including Shanghai.

Boyd Edward Littlewood

Royal Canadian Navy - WWII

The convoys would have from sixty to eighty ships, including battleships, aircraft carriers, six to eight corvettes, destroyers and frigates. Other ships in the convoys would carry war supplies including food, ammunition, gas, and other war materials.

Roy O’Hanley

Merchant Navy - WWII

When asked what his most life altering memory was during his time at war, Roy O’Hanley’s response, was “it would have to be that when I left I was a boy, and when I came home I was a man ...”

My Years in the RCAF

January 1945

P/O Ron Gaudet

Moved to Hornchurch in England on January 1, 1945 he boarded an L.S.T. [tank landing ship] the next day for Ostend, Belgium on route to the Canadian aerodrome Evere, near Brussels.

My Years in the RCAF

Solo Flight - December 16, 1941

P/O Ron Gaudet

I was at 1200 feet in thick overcast with not a sign of the ground. As there were hills all around I started to turn in a big circle and went down a couple hundred feet but still no sign of the ground.

“It was a daylight job on Dortmund. We were briefed around one o’clock, and took off around three-thirty. It was a very clear day, with visibility excellent. On the trip over we didn’t meet any trouble at all - no fighters, no flak.

Journey into Germany

September 12, 1944

Z-Zebra 428 Ghost Squadron

It was a sunny winter afternoon on 3rd July 1946 when I was one of 655 Australian war brides who boarded the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious in Sydney to sail to England to be reunited with our British servicemen husbands.

A Journey To Remember

Gwen West

Australian War Bride

A photo journey of the war years with Elsie and Knowles Crosby

Elsie and Knowles Crosby

The Wartime Generation

Photo Collection

Remembering Denis Callnon

776 Squadron FAA Royal Navy

Denis Callon was killed when the aircraft in which he was the air gunner crashed in the sea near Machrihanish on April 3, 1943.

Remembering

James Dunbar Devey

Jim attended Stockport College and lived with his widowed father, Henry Sydney Devey. They listened to radio programmes or had a quiet night where they spent the evenings together. Jim’s academic interest was in the field of chemistry and he had at the age of 15 published an article on food contamination in aerial warfare.

Mystery Flight - April 17, 1944

525 Squadron, RAF

The flight of 525 RAF Squadron Warwick C Mark I, BV247 (Code DNY-A) would become known as the “mystery flight” and the plane itself referred to the “gold plane”. On April 17, 1944, at 0004 hrs. the pilot was given the 'green' for take-off from RAF St Mawgan’ At a point about a mile off the coast the plane crashed into the sea. The mystery of what happened to the flight of Vickers Warwick C Mark I, BV247 has lingered for years.

A Roosevelt Story

by Michael Cunningham

In Herb Cunningham's journal, an entry was found for August 12, 1941 that led to a very interesting story. The entry reads, "President Roosevelt's yacht & nine warships anchored in the Sound. Bob & Edmund went out and spoke to them".

Unlocking the Mysteries of a

Name - 2009

George Egan and Glen Gaudet of the Wartime Heritage Association (WHA) set out for Europe armed with nothing more than a piece of paper with three names and directions to cemeteries in Normandy. They visited the gravesites of the three Yarmouth natives, three of the 117 from this area whose names appear on the local cenotaph's Second World War list, to place Canadian flags, pay their respects and try to learn more about the three young men who, until Egan and Gaudet's trip, were just names carved on a large stone on Main Street.

Unlocking the Mysteries of a

Name - Malcolm Rose

Malcolm Rose served as a Lieutenant with the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps. He died at the age of 26 on August 6th, 1944 while serving with the 1st Battalion of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers (3rd “Iron” Infantry Division) as a CANLOAN Officer.

Pte. Douglas MacKinnon

Letters to Mrs. Moses

South Ohio is a small community located in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. The letters were found folded in a wartime scrapbook of Nellie (Moses) MacLellan.

On November 23, 1944 orders were given to advance against the enemy. After descending the west side of the San Pietro ridge the company began climbing the muddy slopes to the great rock which rose sheer out of the hilltop. It rained continually.

Richard Doucette

West Nova Scotia Regiment

Wartime Memories

A video interview with Leslie J. Muise Veteran, Royal Canadian Legion,Branch 155 Wedgeport, NS Courtesy of Cyrille Leblanc

Leslie Joseph Muise

Veteran

Remembering

Rosie the Riveter

The image of Geraldine Doyle and the "We Can Do It!" message was commissioned to boost morale for women working in manufacturing at the time.Doyle was photographed wearing a red and white polka-dot bandana at a metal factory in Michigan at the age of 17.

A Collection of Yarmouth

Photos - 1941

The Schooner Hebert L. Rawding sailed from Turk's Island where a cargo of salt was loaded for Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. The cargo was delivered on July 24, 1941.

I had been a piper in the Black Watch 73rd Battalion reserve. I was a boy. I started when I was twelve years old. In 1942 I was fourteen or fifteen. Anyway, they were mustering from the reserve battalions. We had two reserve battalions. We had one battalion on active service, the 13th, and the 73rd were on reserve. Lots of guys were going. I wanted to go.

Memories of a Boy Piper

The Wartime Story of

MacAllister Ellis

Filming in Kent, UK - 2004

Two scenes were filmed on May 18th. With two cameras and microphones, the cast and crew filmed several takes of each scene. The location was overlooking the white chalk cliffs near the Battle of Britain Memorial on the Folkestone Road.

Bernard Hyde was almost fourteen years old when World War II began. Born in Sittingbourne, Kent, he thoroughly enjoyed his childhood, especially the chance to enjoy the open spaces in the woods and fields around his village. His childhood came to an abrupt halt, in a sense, with the resounding call to arms throughout Britain.

Reluctant Engineers’ Coveted

Wings - Flight Lieutenant

Bernard Hyde (RAF)

In A Tiger Moth Over Kent, UK

On the morning of March 14th, 2006 George Egan and Glen Gaudet travelled with WWII veteran Eric May from Maidstone, Kent, to Lashenden Airfield (EGKH), commonly known as Headcorn, for a unique opportunity during their trip to the UK.

Letters Show A Longing for

Christmas at Home

Corporal John Woodruff

Christmas to those serving in the Second World War was a time when soldiers were separated from their families. Extracts from 1943 letters sent by Cpl. John Woodruff to his wife Mildred who resided in the north end of Yarmouth.

A Vivid Christmas Memory -

Italy 1944

Staley Goodwin

The memory of the war years most vivid for Staley was Christmas 1944. "Christmas day of 1944 was one Christmas I'll never forget." The Germans "buried an 88 shell right in front of my trench … blew me back about 20 feet into the mud".

An Airman’s Christmas

Holland 1944

Wilfred Bishara RCAF

While serving with the Tactical Air Force in the RCAF Mobile Unit, Wing #126 in Holland during the Second World War, I am not sure if I can recall all the things that made this "St. Nicholas" Christmas Eve in Holland happen. Regardless, it did, and it became my most memorable, and joyous time in the services, especially, when many events made this time of the war so unpredictable.

New Years Eve 1940

Folkestone, Kent

At midnight, with Folkestone in darkness and no bells to ring in the New Year everyone sang "Auld Lang Syne". In the distance you could hear but a few peeps from some ships in the darkened harbour.

Each Christmas Eve as daylight fades, the entrance gates are open for the arrival of the children, each carrying a lighted candle. Footsteps pass between the grave markers and each child quietly moves throughout the vast cemetery to place a glowing candle before a grave.

Christmas Eve

Remembering NS Casualties

Holten Canadian War Cemetery

Four Casualties from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia are among the 1347 Canadians buried in Holten Canadian War Cemetery remembered at Christmas.

Remembered at Christmas

Yarmouth NS Casualties

Holten Canadian War Cemetery

The initial stillness of Christmas day is broken only by the gentle falling snow that begins to cover the trees of the surrounding forest and as time passes the roadways and the open ground. The woodlands create a protected place of reflection and peacefulness dedicated to the sacrifice of many. Within the woods and surrounding trees is a cemetery where one thousand, three hundred and ninety four are buried. This is the resting place of the men who died during the liberation of The Netherlands.

A Christmas Story of

Remembrance

Kenneth Buchanan

Explore the war related stories and articles in our World War II Story Archive.

He was a long way from home in Nova Scotia as he flew the aircraft over the jungles of Burma to drop supplies. Some Burmese villagers were hiding from the Japanese when they saw billowing smoke and watched as a plane came down believing the chances were slim there would be any survivors …

Air Operation Over Burma

Wing Commander

Roger Henry Tupper, RCAF

In 1945 HMS Formidable's assignment was the Pacific. On August 9, 1945, as the second atomic bomb fell on Nagasaki, the air war against Japan targets continued unabated. Hammy Gray led two flights of Corsairs on an attack against Japanese naval ships.

Robert Hampton Gray

On January 6, 1944, while leading a convoy from New York to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, USS Saint Augustine was accidentally rammed by Merchant Tanker Camas Meadows The USS Saint Augustine foundered within five minutes, and one hundred sixteen of the one hundred forty six crew members on board were killed.

Remembering

Francis Robert d’Entremont

Decisions of political leaders saw the nations of the world entangled in the horrors of global war. Their decisions forced young men and women to don the uniforms of war, forever changing what might have been.

Victory in Europe

May 8, 1945

The Loss of HMCS Fraser June 25, 1940

On June 21, HMCS Fraser was dispatched to assist in the evacuation of St. Jean de Luz, a small town on the Bay of Biscayne coast near the Franco-Spanish border and one of the last outlets for refugees attempting to leave the continent.

A brief history of the Regiment. A collection of information and photos relating to the Regiment, submitted to Wartime Heritage, by family of those with connection to the Algonquin Regiment.

The Algonquin Regiment

Drumhead Service

Yarmouth NS - August 6, 1944

Soldiers at the Canadian Army Training Centre (Camp 60), the airmen stationed at RCAF Station Yarmouth (West Camp) and the navy personnel of the Fleet Air Arm Royal Navy (Telegraphist Air Gunner School) at RCAF Station Yarmouth (West Camp), marched from their various bases to the park located behind the Yarmouth Cenotaph where the service was held

Yarmouth’s connection in the preparation of the Pacific Campaign … Victory in Japan Day and the Red Triangle Canteen … Remembering the Nova Scotia casualties of the Far East and Pacific Campaign.

The Pacific War Ends August 14, 1945

Remembering Flight Lieutenant Bernard Hyde

Flight Lieutenant Bernard Hyde was an Honorary Member of the Wartime Heritage Board of Directors. It was with great sadness the Association learned he passed away on September 2, 2020 at the age of 94.

In WWII German U-boats spent time on the surface, recharging batteries, making transmissions and attacking surface ships with their deck guns. On 28 April 1942, Flight Lieutenant Small was on an operational patrol off Yarmouth in a Canso when he sighted a U-boat on the surface.

Canadian Air Force Hero Based in Yarmouth by Michael Cunningham

A brave man known to accept most risks, Jack’s adventures gained him significant experience in the coastal waters of Nova Scotia and New England. Little did he know this experience would shape his legacy the way it did.

Captain John “Jack” Howell Unsung Yarmouth Hero by Michael Cunningham

Remembering Flying Officer Arthur Douglas Gavel

Arthur Douglas Gavel was born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, the son of Yarmouth born, George William Gavel (1888–1968) a Veteran of World War I. Flying Officer Gavel was the pilot of the Mystery Flight of April 17, 1944.

Among those commemorated by the Commission are 69,007 non military, civilian, casualties of the Second World War. These casualties were from aerial bombings, passengers on ships lost at sea from u-boat attacks, raids by carrier- based aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy, civilian passengers in crashes of military aircraft, and civilian WWII internment camps.

Civilian Deaths with Connection to Nova Scotia

In my grandfather's house, there was a table around which nine people sat down to dinner each night. The table is gone, and there is no one left who remembers the hopes and fears that were shared around it. They have all left us. But their deeds remain. What they endured and what they accomplished are part of our heritage. They were courageous men.

A Canadian War Story by Harry Lauder

Sergeant Victor Ray Bowers 27 th Canadian Armoured Regiment

“Under heavy mortar and shelling, Sergeant Bowers, despite the danger, led his fitters from tank to tank doing necessary repairs on the night of February 27, 1945. A second such instance occurred during the attack on Emmerich. For his contempt for danger and devotion to duty he was awarded the Military Medal.”

The wind had blown sand off the beach onto the promenade at Bournemouth, … It was a clear summer day in 1943, when ten-year old Sylvia and her four-year brother were playing in the sand. They didn’t often get to play along the seafront and when they did, it was usually a Sunday just after Church. On this Sunday, it was at lunchtime, and they were the only ones on the promenade.

The Little Girl’s Secret Bournemouth, England - 1943

The valley between Mount Cavallaria and Mount Gregorio in northern Italy was shrouded in darkness and heavy fog on the night of September 11, 1944. Partisans on guard in the locality of Lettola, on the slopes of the mountain, heard the aircraft still distant and invisible enter the valley corridor from the south.

In Defence of Freedom The Story of Halifax II BB412

Eighty years ago, for thousands of British people, the Chislehurst Caves were their home during the air raids and bombings by enemy German aircraft. They were not natural caverns – they were dug out when being used as a chalk mine – all 22 miles of them, a hundred feet underground.

Ringing in the New Year Chislehurst Caves - 1941

Madeline Doyle was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia on January 4, 1896. In 1939 Madeline and the wife of another Army Air Corps General helped choose the anthem for the US Air Force “Off We Go into the Wild Blue Yonder”. They went through hundreds of entries until a music teacher turned in his composition, and Madeline McCormick liked its “zip”.

Remembering Madeline (Doyle) Tinker McCormick

“No fighter pilot would have picked out civilians like that!” was the comment of a disbelieving friend. Well, Bruce Graham, then three years old, never forget the twigs, branches, and leaves, cascading down as the fighter plane raced over at treetop height. Beyond recalling his childhood wartime experiences he shares his post-war life to retirement and remembers those of his family who served in WWI and WWII.

“Under Attack” Wartime Bournemouth and Suburbs Bruce Edwin Graham

Battle of the Bulge Nova Scotians in the Ardennes Offensive

In the wake of the successful advance of the Allied forces, it would have been seen by some as if the Second World War was all but over in the fall of 1944. Yet, on the early misty morning of December 16th with the onset of winter, the German army launched a counter- offensive …

It was Monday morning, August 25, 1941, and the final preparations were under way for the departure of Convoy TC 12B from Halifax, Nova Scotia. That morning Chan Fong, a merchant seaman, was not on board the Empress of Russia when it departed Halifax …

The Forgotten Merchant Seaman Chan Fong RMS Empress of Russia

Raymond Thomas Voss was a welder with the Civilian Technical Corps and a casualty of WWII. Despite this, he is not currently commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and has no marked grave in the cemetery in which he’s interred …

Civilian Technical Corps Raymond Thomas Voss (1916-1943)

“Within no time the first Canadian was in our room. He had come to us obviously to show us that the street was in their hands. … I can still see him sitting in the comfortable chair. We had not much to offer him. He had cigarettes and chocolate to offer us. We were deeply impressed by his presence and his story …

Wartime Memories Bonnie van der Meulen-Hiddema The Liberation of Groningen

Defensively equipped merchant ship (DEMS) was a British Admiralty Trade Division programme established in June of 1939, to arm approximately 5,500 British merchant ships so that they could be equipped with an adequate defence against enemy aircraft and submarine attacks.

DEMS Gunners Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship

George enlisted in the US Navy on April 17, 1943. He joined the American Liberty Ship the USS George M. Cohan, on March 17, 1944, in Cardiff, Wales.

George Francis Amiro USS George M. Cohan

In November 2018, Glen Gaudet, Vice-Chair of the Wartime Heritage Association, visited Arlington National Cemetery, the final resting place for more than 400,000 active-duty service members, veterans, and their families.

Visit to Arlington by Glen Gaudet

Remembrance is a year-round activity for the American Battle Monuments Commission, as it is for the Wartime Heritage Association … September 2023

100th Anniversary of the American Battle Monuments Commission by Glen Gaudet

The plane approached England from the northeast, heading for a position between Sheerness and Ramsgate, and when the pilot shut off his motor and the plane dropped to 2000 feet, Kerr, wearing the uniform of a Canadian soldier, made his jump, landing near Herne Bay.

The Tale of the German Spy

During the war years with husbands, fathers, sons, and daughters, serving in the military overseas, the family Christmas was often one where festive joy was intertwined with memories of former Christmas seasons when the family gathered and laughter once filled the family home …

Christmas Poems of the war years

John Rankin Aitken, Sergeant Pilot, RAF, of Airdrie, Lanarkshire, Scotland, awarded the British Empire Medal (Military Division), [BEM (M)], for Brave Conduct by King George VI in 1942 (Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, St. James’s Palace, London):

John Rankin Aitken Royal Air Force WWII

On May 4, 1943, Flight Sergeant Swan was the pilot of Beaufighter VI JK 817 that departed RAF Leuchars on anti shipping operations off Norway. Sergeant Dennis Wilsmore Hagan, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, of Beckenham, Kent, was the navigator. The aircraft failed to return to base and was presumed to have been lost at sea.

Harry Frederic Swan Royal Canadian Air Force WWII

Fred Douglas Whitehouse Royal Canadian Air Force WWII

In 1943 Fred Whitehouse enlisted in the RCAF, driven by a desire to serve his country during the war. Despite his commitment, he faced an unfortunate fate – he never completed his training, he never flew an aircraft, and he never engaged in combat overseas. But the unforgettable experience in those months following his enlistment would remain with him for all the years of his life.

James ‘Jim’ Marshal McRae Royal Canadian Air Force WWII

WWII Veteran Flight Lt. James ‘Jim’ Marshal McRae, DFC, CD, of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, was born Wednesday, November 28, 1917, in Huxley, Alberta, the son of Gordon Stewart McRae and Gertrude Sarah Marshall, and the brother of Hector Earl McRae. McRae (Service No. J/20176) was stationed with 162 Squadron, based in Yarmouth and later Reykjavík.

The Silent Guns of Calais

The first bombs fell on the town of Dover on July 6, 1940, and the first shell, fired from the long- range guns built by the Germans on the cliffs of Calais, fell on August 12th. Many of the remaining civilians took shelter in caves deep within the cliffs.

Edmund Tolson was born on December 3, 1900 in Bedford, Halifax County, Nova Scotia. He enlisted with United States Army Air Force and served with the 390th Base Headquarters 1942- 1945.

Remembering Edmund Sinclair Tolson

The Italian Campaign - WWII

Forty-two ships carrying Canadian soldiers departed Great Britain on June 25, 1943. On board were the 1st Canadian Infantry Division and the 1st Canadian Army Tank Brigade …

The Quartermaster issued three blankets, one rubber ground sheet, one plate, one pillow, one knife, one fork, and one spoon to each trainee. Platoon Officers assigned barracks and completed biographical data on each man …

Yarmouth and the War Years

Camp 60 Canadian Infantry

Basic Training Centre

“Some of the Lads Don't Offer

Their Stories Easily, Do They?”

We often run across this situation where we know a war casualty’s name, but little or nothing else. Finding their roots is one of our goals for our curated list of all WWII casualties with ties to NS.

The Sinking of the Merchant Motor Tanker Barbro September 19, 1941

The four Canadians on the ship had ties to Nova Scotia and are remembered on Panel 19 of the Halifax Memorial in Point Pleasant Park in Halifax, Nova Scotia.