Courage Under Fire

 I left off yesterday mentioning families who had gone to war in both of the World Wars. Here we have another example of a father and son who both served with honour and courage, receiving the same medal decades apart for acts of bravery in combat: Henry Byce and Charles Byce.

Another case of a parent and child: Thomas Courtenay was a young lieutenant in the First World War, and his daughter Irene served as a nurse in the Second World War.

This is one of her notebooks.

Canadian war artist Charles Comfort painted The Hitler Line in 1944, depicting action in Italy, where he was embedded with Canadian troops.

A mother's grief: Silver Cross Mother Mrs. George Stephens holds photographs of her sons, all killed in the war.

Major Alex Campbell, who developed a fierce reputation on the battlefield, would not see the end of the war, dying in battle in Italy.

This is a memorial plaque in his name and a letter from one of his captains to his mother.

One of his men would become famous in his own right. Farley Mowat was a young officer who revered Campbell, and would make use of him in a book, later becoming one of Canada's most esteemed novelists.