In The Gallery

 I begin where I left off yesterday, with one more look at Walter Allward's extraordinary plaster cast versions for his work on the Vimy Memorial.

The next space is the Lebreton Gallery, home to a multitude of military vehicles and equipment from around the world and multiple eras. We begin with the Nyala Armoured Personnel Carrier, used in the Afghan War

Here we have the F15A Wireless Truck, a mobile communication center of the Second World War.

Side by side, two Canadian vehicles. The AA7 Cargo Carrier was designed for winter conditions and Arctic travel. The Water Weasel at right originates from the Second World War.

This is the M113 Combat Engineering Vehicle.

A mobile office in a trailer- this particular one was used by Canadian Lieutenant-General Harry Crerar during the Second World War.

And here we have the staff car of Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander during campaigns in North Africa and Italy. After the war, he would be the governor-general of Canada.

Regeneration

 Raymond Moriyama was the architect who designed the Canadian War Museum, when it came time for a new location and a large expansion from its previous location. He and his family were also tied to history- they were among 22 000 Japanese-Canadians interned during World War Two. That background informs the design of the building, which very much suits the subject. There are two focal points in the building's architecture that Moriyama put into the design, one of which I photographed on this visit.

The axis of the Museum is centered with this space- Regeneration Hall. The long tall window is positioned with a direct view of Parliament Hill, a deliberate choice by Moriyama. When the building was under construction, he noted the sound of wind blowing through this space, and had it recorded. It is a haunting sound, played back in this area. Listen to it right here.

Down below are half-scale plaster casts, done by Walter Allward. He designed and led the construction of the Vimy Memorial in France, where Canadian soldiers fought a bloody battle during the First World War, doing what other allied forces could not do and capturing Vimy Ridge. France set aside the land after the war for a memorial to the men who had done so much, and all Canadian dead of that war. Allward in his design went for allegorical figures, with a tone of grief and sorrow, which are incorporated into the Memorial.

This is a model of the Memorial.

They evoke power and sadness.

This painting is of the unveiling of the Memorial. Georges Bertin Scott painted the work, which features the official party, led by Edward VIII, moving off after the ceremony.

We'll pick up here tomorrow

Last Salute

 Last Salute is a 2016 work by Emily Otterman, depicting Canadian veterans paying their respects to fallen comrades in the Netherlands.

Dennis LeBlanc joined the Canadian military in the 1990s and would see war in Afghanistan. Both of his grandfathers fought in World War Two, and conversations with his paternal grandfather would come up about that war when the young man joined up.

This is the scrapbook of Jeanne Caron, a nurse during the war. She and her husband didn't discuss their war experiences, but she was encouraged by her family to tell her story.

The quote above is by Frank Moritsugu, seen in the bottom photograph below. At top, a woman I met several times at Remembrance Day in the Museum. Joan Voller was in the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service; her husband was a Navy man. Her uniform is still on display in the permanent collection, and I remember her speaking with bright vitality about her war memories.

Old photos and more recent close out this exhibit, rotating in turn.

Liberation

 The Soldier Returns is the title of this 2019 painting by David Whittaker. It depicts his father-in-law Russell Kaye, visiting Juno Beach in 2019, 75 years after landing there on D-Day.

Many Canadian veterans and their families during visits to Europe have returned to the Netherlands, time and again. It was Canadian soldiers largely responsible for the liberation of the country in that war, and the Dutch have never forgotten. David Wake accompanied his father Evan Wake, who had been part of the liberation, and filmed the journey.

Emily Otterman accompanied her veteran father in 2015 to the Netherlands, and out of that found inspiration in art. We'll look at one of her works tomorrow.

Squadron

 We begin today with a series of badges and pins, belonging to veterans as a way of marking their service in the Second World War.

One of those who had survived the war, though he was assumed dead, was Samuel Taylor with the RCAF. His plane was shot down, and he evaded capture. With the assistance of the French Resistance, he made contact with other downed pilots and aircrew members. They hid in forests, caves, and country homes. Among the souvenirs Taylor kept was a map of France, a scrap from a parachute, and a bracelet a Resistance member had given him for his fiancee back home.

He would make a scrapbook of his memories of the Escadrille Soixante-Neuf, or Squadron 69, as the group of fallen airmen would call themselves while evading capture. They would survive the war.

Imagine getting this telegram, after believing him dead. 

This includes a photograph from the wedding day.

Veterans in the years that would follow would mark occasions at cenotaphs across the country. And now there are few left, and fewer by the year, of that war.

Madeline Fraser was a nurse with the No. 14 Canadian General Hospital. The unit followed the Canadian military from 1940-1945. They had a plate designed by an artist, and multiple copies made, to remember their service.