During World War II, Canada had a team of photographers that worked day and night to capture the reality of every facet to the struggles. Photographs were captured at Prisoner of War camps in Alberta, on Naval vessels in the Atlantic and Pacific theatres, across Europe through battles, camp life, and training exercises. Each of these images truly tells its own story.
During World War II, Canada had a team of photographers that worked day and night to capture the reality of every facet to the struggles. Photographs were captured at Prisoner of War camps in Alberta, on Naval vessels in the Atlantic and Pacific theatres, across Europe through battles, camp life, and training exercises. Each of these images truly tells its own story.
The photographs, and the information collected with them, are an incredible view into history. Most of the photographs include detailed information and often names of the individuals.
The amount of information listed varies, but the records usually include the following information:
Location of the photograph
Date of the photograph
Unit or individuals pictured
Event surrounding the photograph, such as an awards ceremony or preparation for a significant battle or movement
Names of those photographed
Name of the photographer
Search by keyword: all of these images have been tagged with appropriate keywords, so search this collection in a variety of ways. Keywords include the items you see in the image, such as “cigarette,” “training exercise,” “cooking,” etc.
Search by name: because of the incredible amount of information captured with each image, many of the more than 4,000 images include at least one name.
Search by unit or military branch: again, thanks to the details provided with these photographs, you can search for a specific unit, a specific training exercise or mission, or simply, “Army,” “Navy,” and so forth.
Use these images in combination with the 1939 Register and the 1940 US Census to get a broader understanding of what life was like just before the outbreak of WWII.