Campaigns

This is the emergency life vest of a German pilot who was shot down in France during the Normandy campaign. Officers and men of the Royal Canadian Air Force signed it.

Here we have the standard helmet used by Canadian and British troops on D-Day.

Nearby, a bust of the man who started it all, brought back as a souvenir by a Canadian chaplain. What was it about this small, raging man that captured the hearts of an entire country and drove the world into a war? We may never know.

Major Alex Campbell led Canadian soldiers during the war until his death in battle, one of the extraordinary stories of the war. He was driven by the death of his own father during the First World War. And as you see below, he had something of a sense of humour.

Some Canadians were embedded with British forces during the North African campaign, including Campbell, who kept a journal, learned his lessons, and taught them well to those he commanded.

Canadians would become heavily involved in the campaigns through Sicily and mainland Italy.

This is Tank At Crossroads by William Ogilvie. We'll carry on here tomorrow.