Author Archives: Michael K. Barbour

About Michael K. Barbour

Michael K. Barbour is the Director of Faculty Development and a Professor of Instructional Design for the College of Education and Health Sciences at Touro University California. He has been involved with K-12 online learning in a variety of countries for well over a decade as a researcher, teacher, course designer and administrator. Michael's research focuses on the effective design, delivery and support of K-12 online learning, particularly for students located in rural jurisdictions.

New details emerge in the case for the first Canadian Victoria Cross

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An item from the Legion Magazine.

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New details emerge in the case for the first Canadian Victoria Cross

Story by Stephen J. Thorne

Private Jess Randall Larochelle of the Royal Canadian Regiment was in an observation post when it was destroyed by a rocket propelled grenade during an enemy attack on the position in Pashmul, Afghanistan. It was Oct. 14, 2006.

Manning a C6 machine gun—known as “the bullet magnet” because the enemy always looks to disable it first—Larochelle was knocked unconscious by the blast. Two members of his section were killed and three others wounded.

“Canada and the liberation of the Netherlands” wins Gold for the Best Interactive Story 2020

Legion Magazine’s interactive website Canada and the liberation of Netherlands wins Gold from the Canadian Online Publishing Awards. The site explores how in the final months of the Second World War, Canadian forces were assigned to liberate the Netherlands from Nazi occupation.

View rare photographs, videos and
interactive battle maps by visiting legionmagazine.com/Liberation-of-Netherlands

“The October Crisis” wins Silver for the Best Interactive Story 2020

Legion Magazine’s interactive website The October Crisis wins Silver
from the Canadian Online Publishing Awards. The site revisits the crisis of October 1970, when the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross and Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte. In response, Canada’s armed forces were deployed in Quebec and Ontario.

You can explore rare photographs, timelines, memoirs and
opinions by visiting legionmagazine.com/theoctobercrisis

Homesick, seasick and lovesick

Story by Sharon Adams

The ocean liner SS Mauritania docked at Pier 21 in Halifax on Feb. 10, 1946, filled with women described in the media as homesick, seasick and lovesick.

War brides.

The vessel was the first of the bride ships, which by 1947 had carried more than 44,000 women and about 21,000 children to new lives in Canada.

Email sent to: mkbarbour@gmail.com

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Kanata, Ontario | K2L 0A1 | Canada |
1-844-602-5737 | 613-591-0116 | magazine@legion.ca

Now accepting funding applications from grad & undergrad students!

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An update from one of our fellow Canadian organizations in the Bay Area.

Canadian Studies Announcements

In this issue:

Canadian Studies now accepting applications for grad & undergrad funding
Mark your calendars – Big Give is March 11!
The hidden legacy of Alberta’s Black settlers
Upcoming event: Free documentary & film talk on The Blinding Sea
Affiliate event: “The Black Experience in Canada & the US”

Applications Open for Graduate and Undergraduate Funding

The Canadian Studies Program is pleased to announce that we are currently accepting applications for the following funding opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students. Please help share this information with your friends, students, and colleagues!

The Edward M. Hildebrand Research Fellowship in Canadian Studies

Summer fellowship deadline: March 15, 2021

Academic year fellowship deadline: May 7, 2021

Amount: $5k-10k

Apply here

This fellowship competition is open to graduate students of any citizenship enrolled at Berkeley whose research focuses primarily or comparatively on Canada. Both summer and academic year applications are accepted. The applicant should demonstrate the potential for excellent scholarship and describe a project which will contribute to knowledge about Canada and/or the Canadian-U.S. relationship. Funds are intended for direct travel and research costs. Maintenance and/or tuition costs may be considered under rare circumstances, and only in the final stage of the student’s dissertation writing.

The Rita Ross Undergraduate Prize in Canadian Studies

2021 deadline: May 7, 2021

Amount: $250

Apply here

This prize is awarded annually to the student who has written the best undergraduate research paper or produced the best original project that engages with topics, people or events related to Canada. The prize competition is open to any UC Berkeley undergraduate student in good academic standing, in any college or discipline. The paper submitted must be an original paper or project produced in a UC Berkeley class or independent study during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Mark your calendars – Big Give is next month!

Help support quality research and programming on Canada by donating to Canadian Studies on March 11 during Big Give, Berkeley ‘s annual day of giving. Your gift can have a big impact!

Your gift could help us win one of several contests with cash prizes at no extra cost. Check out the Big Give leaderboards to plan your giving strategy, and don’t forget to give big March 11!

The Hidden Legacy of Canada’s Black Prairie Settlers

In the early 20th century, rural Alberta experienced a surge of African-American settlers fleeing violence and discrimination in the southern United States. Lured by the province’s plentiful land and the hope of less discrimination, these settlers founded a score of majority-Black prairie communities that flourished for decades. Learn about the history and legacy of Amber Valley, an almost-vanished hamlet once among largest of these settlements, via the CBC.

Upcoming Event

Free Documentary and Talk: The BIinding Sea

March 9 | 12:30 p.m. | RSVP here

Join filmmaker George Tombs for a discussion of his 2020 documentary The Blinding Sea. The film chronicles the life of Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen (1872-1928), the first person to lead a successful expedition through the Northwest Passage. It evokes the joys, sorrows, relationships, and missed opportunities in the life of Amundsen, who disappeared mysteriously during a polar flight in 1928. The film places a special focus on Amundsen’s relations with the Indigenous people he encountered on his voyages, particularly the Inuit.

A free link to the documentary will be sent in advance of the event. We request all participants watch the documentary before joining the discussion.

George Tombs is an award-winning author and filmmaker based in Montreal, who works in both English and French. He is currently writing a biography of Roald Amundsen. His past works include Robber Baron, a biography of controversial media tycoon Conrad Black, and his recent humorous novel Mind the Gap.

Affiliate/External Events

The Black Experience in Canada & the U.S.: A Discussion with Debra Thompson

February 24 | 12:00 p.m. | RSVP here

The Black Lives Matter movement has given rise to global conversations on how systems with built in racial inequality continue to affect the lives of people of African descent worldwide. While there is growing awareness of the ongoing legacy of racial inequality in the U.S., the Canadian experience is less well known.

Rana Sarkar, Canadian Consul General in San Francisco/Silicon Valley, will lead a discussion on the Black experience in Canada and the U.S. with Dr. Debra Thompson, associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Racial Inequality in Democratic Societies at McGill University and a leading scholar of the comparative politics of race. Dr. Thompson previously spoke at a Canadian Studies colloquium in September 2020.

Canadian Studies Program

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Canadian Studies Program | Univ. of California, Berkeley, 213 Moses Hall #2308, Berkeley, CA 94720

Update on Cpl. Uber, MIA in France

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An up-coming event from the folks behind the World War One Centennial Commission.

Dear Friend,

In December, I shared the story of Corporal James L. Uber: a 29-year-old Pennsylvania boy killed in action on October 8, 1918 while serving in France as part of Company B, 112th Infantry Regiment, 28th Division National Army. His body, interned in a shallow grave near where he fell, was never recovered; his family was never given a last resting place to remember him and ease their grief.

I firmly believe that a man is only missing if he is forgotten. That’s why I founded Doughboy MIA, the only nonprofit in the world working to find our missing American boys from World War I and bringing them home. And you can help.

On Thursday, February 25^th from 7:00 to 8:00 PM EST I’ll be presenting the latest findings in the Cpl. Uber case, introducing the Doughboy MIA search team, and briefing you on our progress so far. This is your chance to learn what we are doing to bring missing American WWI soldiers, Marines, and airmen a final resting place – and how you might be able to help.

You can access this Zoom briefing by signing up here.

Even if you can’t make it, but are interested in learning more, please sign up. We’ll be sending a full recording of the briefing to those who do, along with updates as we head to France later in the year.

Help remember James and the sacrifice he made for this country.

Sign up and get involved.

Warmly,

Robert

Robert J. Laplander

Directing Manager – Doughboy M.I.A.

www.ww1cc.org/mia

(414) 333-9402

A Man Is Only Missing If He Is Forgotten

In Memory of Captain Sir Thomas Moore

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An item from the organization formerly known as There But Not There.

In Memory of Captain Sir Thomas Moore

This week, the nation has celebrated the life of Captain Sir Tom Moore, who has passed away aged 100 having rallied the British public in support of the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic.

Captain Sir Tom: The Veteran

Captain Sir Tom’s story of support for the country began many decades before the current crisis. A veteran of the Eastern campaign during the Second World War, Sir Tom served in incredibly challenging conditions in both India and Burma as part of the allied efforts combatting the Imperial Japanese Army.

Stationed primarily in India, he provided vital support running a training programme for Army motorcyclists before joining the Fourteenth Army also known as the Forgotten Army – named so due to the thousands of miles of distance between them and their UK homeland.

The Eastern theatre of war brought with it conditions not seen in Europe: heat, humidity and tropical disease. Like many of his comrades, Sir Tom was struck down with dengue fever but fortunately recovered before returning to the UK in the final year of the war to become an instructor on the inner workings of Churchill tanks.

It was 75 years later that Sir Tom would once again come to the fore in the nation’s time of need.

Serving his Country once again

Beginning in April 2020, the then 99-year-old Sir Tom decided he would walk, walking frame in-hand, 100 laps of his garden with a modest target of raising £1,000 for the NHS.

Within a few weeks, after receiving global acclaim with celebrities, members of the cabinet and even the Prime Minister recognising his efforts, Tom completed his 100^th lap – ahead of his 100^th birthday, as planned.

Upon completion, his fundraising total amounted to an astonishing £32million and for his efforts he was was knighted by the Queen at a July special ceremony in what was Her Majesty’s first official engagement since the lockdown.

Captain Sir Tom was able to do something truly remarkable: he brought together the nation at a time when people were unable to meet, he rallied the troops in support of those in need – just as he had almost 80 years earlier, he personified the sense of duty found so often in the ex-servicemen and women of our Armed Forces.

Tommy Trotter Update:

Thank you SO much to everyone who has sent Tommy Trotter a birthday card. To date, he has received over 2,500 cards. Can you see yours in the image below?

How amazing! His birthday is on Feb 10th, and there’s a few more special surprises in store for him, so watch this space!