A convoy of merchant ships assembles in Bedford Basin in 1942. In the upper left corner, the Narrows opens into Halifax Harbour and the North Atlantic beyond. [Nova Scotia Archives]

Editorial cartoonist Bob Chambers and Halifax in Wartime

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

Through two world wars, Halifax was the anonymous “East Coast port” referenced in military dispatches, government statements and news reports, a censor-imposed vaguery that fooled no one.

Accessed by rail, its proximity to both North American manufacturing hubs and the fighting overseas, facilitated by a large, deep, protected, ice-free harbour, made the capital of Nova Scotia the ideal staging point for transatlantic convoys ferrying troops, equipment, munitions, food and other supplies critical to the Allied war effort.

READ MORE

More from Front Lines

• Researchers identify remains of Franklin expedition skipper
• Stolen Churchill portrait coming home
• 100 images of the 2024 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships: Part 2

HomeEquity Bank, the provider of the CHIP Reverse Mortgage, is proud to be endorsed by The Royal Canadian Legion as a trusted organization offering a safe and secure financial solution to help aging Canadian homeowners live with independence, dignity, and empowerment.

Since 2019, HomeEquity Bank has partnered with the Royal Canadian Legion to empower Canadian Veterans and their families to live a secure retirement on their terms. As part of our ongoing commitment, Legion members receive a $500 cash rebate* upon funding their CHIP Reverse Mortgage!

Why should you consider the CHIP Reverse Mortgage?

• Access up to 55%** of the value of your home in tax-free cash
• Maintain ownership and control of your home
• No regular mortgage payments required
• No impact to OAS or CPP
• Only provider of reverse mortgages in Canada recommended by The Royal Canadian Legion

To learn more about how you can achieve financial freedom with the CHIP Reverse Mortgage, call us toll-free on 1-833-756-2447 or visit CHIP.ca.

LEARN MORE

ATTENTION CANADIAN MILITARY FAMILIES : Did you or a family member receive VAC disability benefits between 2003 and 2023?

On 17 January 2024 the Federal Court approved a settlement in a class action involving alleged underpayment of certain disability pension benefits administered by Veterans Affairs Canada (“VAC”) payable to members or former members of the Canadian Armed Forces (“CAF”) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (“RCMP”) and their spouses, commonlaw partners, survivors, other related individuals, and estates (the “Settlement”).

If you received any of the disability-related benefits listed below at any time between 2003 and 2023, you may be entitled to compensation under the Settlement. As the executor, estate trustee, administrator, or family member of a deceased class member who collected VAC-administered disability benefits, you may also be able to claim on behalf of the estate.

READ MORE

Roméo Dallaire served 35 years with the Canadian Armed Forces, including his role in 1993-94 as Commander of the UN Assistance Mission in Rwanda. [UNAC]

Québécois Catch-22: Roméo Dallaire and the FLQ Crisis

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

Twenty-three-year-old Roméo Dallaire, a lieutenant in 5e Régiment d’artillerie légère du Canada on Oct. 5, 1970, struggled to believe what was happening.

Earlier that day, a separatist cell of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) had kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross. In doing so, the weeks-long ordeal dubbed the October Crisis (also known as the FLQ Crisis) had begun.

And Dallaire would soon find himself in the centre of an unfolding drama.

READ MORE

More from Military Milestones

• The Battle of Bowmanville
• Night of the Tempest: A British-Canadian pilot versus German Zeppelin L.31
• Currie’s crossing: Remembering the Battle of Canal du Nord

Member Benefit Partner

We all have unique interests and hobbies. How well we hear plays a big role in how we experience the world around us. That’s why it’s important to find the hearing aids that fit your lifestyle and budget. To help you find the hearing aid that is right for you, we are offering all Legion members and their family a free trial of our top-of-the line hearing aids for 30 days.

Learn more

A daguerreotype of Captain James Fitzjames taken in 1845 and sold at Sotheby’s in September 2023. The remains of Fitzjames, who commanded HMS Erebus, have been identified by DNA and genealogical analyses. [Sotheby’s/Wikimedia]

Researchers identify remains of Franklin expedition skipper

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

They are the last known communications from the storied Arctic expedition led by John Franklin, found by a search party stashed in a stone cairn at Victory Point on the northwest coast of King William Island in May 1859, 11 years after it was written.

Scrawled in the margins of a preprinted Admiralty form, the so-called “Victory Point Note” bore two messages. The first, dated May 28, 1847, said the ships Erebus and Terror had wintered in ice, that Franklin was commanding, and all were “well.”

By April 25, 1848, however, the situation had deteriorated markedly.

READ MORE

More from Front Lines

• Stolen Churchill portrait coming home
• 100 images of the 2024 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships: Part 2
• Rare birds: The Canada Aviation and Space Museum’s WW I collection

ATTENTION CANADIAN MILITARY FAMILIES : Did you or a family member receive VAC disability benefits between 2003 and 2023?

On 17 January 2024 the Federal Court approved a settlement in a class action involving alleged underpayment of certain disability pension benefits administered by Veterans Affairs Canada (“VAC”) payable to members or former members of the Canadian Armed Forces (“CAF”) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (“RCMP”) and their spouses, commonlaw partners, survivors, other related individuals, and estates (the “Settlement”).

If you received any of the disability-related benefits listed below at any time between 2003 and 2023, you may be entitled to compensation under the Settlement. As the executor, estate trustee, administrator, or family member of a deceased class member who collected VAC-administered disability benefits, you may also be able to claim on behalf of the estate.

READ MORE

Bowmanville prisoners of war. [U-35.com]

The Battle of Bowmanville

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

“Wherever possible,” read a detailed Allied military plan for Operation Jubilee, “prisoners’ hands will be tied to prevent destruction of their documents.”

The order was a recipe for disaster on what would be a disastrous day in Dieppe, France, on Aug. 19, 1942. There, some 6,100 Allied troops—4,963 Canadians among them—endured nine hours of hell as the German defenders cut them to ribbons. The Dieppe Raid incurred about 3,000 casualties, amounting to almost half the original assault force; of those, more than 900 Canadian dead littered the bloodied shingles and wrecked commune, while 1,946 were taken prisoner.

Searching the washed-up bodies and burnt-out vehicles, the victorious Germans found the orders. Hitler was outraged—and it was destined to get far worse.

READ MORE

More from Military Milestones

• Night of the Tempest: A British-Canadian pilot versus German Zeppelin L.31
• Currie’s crossing: Remembering the Battle of Canal du Nord
• My son in Spain: Canada’s last combat veteran of the Spanish Civil War

Member Benefit Partner

Learn more