Fighter-Interceptor

 A reminder to members of City Daily Photo that the theme for April 1st is Entertainment. 

This is an emergency van, used as a mobile canteen in Britain, both for civilians affected by air raids and for Allied servicemen during World War Two.

The Voodoo fighter-interceptor jet is mounted above Lebreton Gallery. A standard for the Canadian military during the Cold War, it dominates the space.

Kurt is the name of a weather station that was installed in northern Labrador during World War Two, dropped off by Germans from a u-boat. It functioned for a short time before going offline, and was forgotten for decades until a German researcher going through naval records found mention of it. It was recovered and now resides here.

These memorial plaques are from the flagship location of the old Eaton's retail store chain. They commemorate staff members who died in both World Wars.

Two dioramas of the same general location are found close by. Passchendaele was the name of a ferocious battle of the First World War, won by Canadians at great cost. This depicts a German bunker cutaway; at right, a Canadian soldier is about to throw a grenade at the doorway. Sergeant Tommy Holmes is the man who won the Victoria Cross on the 26th of October, 1917, for what he did at Passchendaele.

The other diorama shows a much larger section of the battlefield, and thus the soldiers are much smaller. But they are seen on either side of the river flowing down off the ridge through the ruined landscape. Arthur Currie, the commanding general, set forth a methodical plan to take the ridge section by section. Against all odds, Canadian soldiers did it.

The Voodoo looms overhead. It is an impressive jet.