A Dark Period Of Global Upheaval

Some recruitment posters from World War One, in both official languages, are seen here.

It was a war that had come at great cost. The country would never be the same.

This portrait by William Orpen is of Robert Borden, the Prime Minister of the country through the First World War.

With the amount of things Canadians had done during the Great War, Borden pushed for them to have a place in the peace negotiations, as well as a greater say for their place in the world. This was still a period in which the British decided foreign policy for their dominions, after all.

The Great Depression was a calamity in and of itself, with the collapse of the economy worldwide plunging the world into the darkness. Canada was hit by it as much as any other country. Here, this includes a quilt made by a church congregation women's organization.

The CBC (Radio-Canada in French) is a legacy of this period, founded as a public broadcaster.

World War Two would drive the world into more upheaval, but also bring us out of the malaise of the Depression. Canada joined Britain from the beginning of the war, and again, the country's military would distinguish itself throughout.

Two photographs taken during the war. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King hosted two conferences at Quebec City for the western allies, with Winston Church and Franklin Roosevelt, and the Earl of Athlone, who was the governor-general at the time. At bottom, a photograph of King taken during his radio broadcast on VE Day.

Canadian industrial output for the war was total. The country was dedicated to winning the war.

And when it all came to an end, both in Europe and in Asia, the country would celebrate, welcome their sons, husbands, fathers, and brothers home, and grieve for those who never made it back.

The World Descends Into Another War

The third gallery at the War Museum concerns itself with the Second World War.

The Great Depression hit Canada hard, as it did elsewhere in the world. It would also give rise to the dictators who took power in Germany, Italy, and Japan.

The first artifact in this area is this Mercedes. This belonged to Hitler himself, and was captured by the Americans at the end of the war. It later ended up in Canadian hands.

When Hitler launched his attack on Poland, Canada swiftly became part of the war effort, declaring war on Nazi Germany.

An army of volunteers would have to be raised to send across the ocean to Europe. Here we have the typical uniform of a Canadian soldier.

The Nazi blitzkrieg swept western Europe, occupying neighbours and spreading tyranny. The fall of France left Britain, along with Commonwealth counterparts like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, seeming to be alone.

Canadians went to war as pilots in the Royal Canadian Air Force, fighting in the Battle of Britain and afterwards throughout the war.

Canada became a training ground for commonwealth pilots. Its vast spaces were ideal, and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was initiated. Franklin Roosevelt, who foresaw the dangers of the world long before his countrymen could accept it, called Canada the aerodrome of democracy. 

Every city and town on this map of the country housed a training base under that plan. It was a big operation.

The Canadian navy was in it from the beginning as part of the Battle of the Atlantic, facing the threat of German u-boats. They protected convoys of merchant ships bringing much needed supplies to Britain and elsewhere. 

This is the uniform of Joan Voller. She went to war as part of the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service, nicknamed the Wrens. I still remember she would be here for many a Remembrance Day alongside her uniform, still bright and chipper, telling stories of her war service, and meeting her navy husband. We'll return to the series after the theme day.

Gardens

Here on the second floor of the main house at Moorside, we get a look at the office of a prime minister. King would have work to do even while out of town, and this was the place it was done. It was also a place where his ideas for his home, and his ideas for the country, took shape.

Here we have King's passport- the first Canadian passport, likely a copy of the original. Prior to his government pushing for a distinctly Canadian passport, Canadians just used a British empire passport when travelling abroad.

Newspapers, in French and English, date from the Second World War, the second major crisis King had to steer the country through with his steady hand.

A glance out the window as I started to descend the stairs to the ground floor.

A display case is found here, with some gardening tools, a comic book about King, and one of his hats.

Nearby is a model for one of his follys here on the property.

Also in the display case are a series of documents and photographs- this one taken during the Quebec Conference of August 1943, in which King and the governor general, the Earl of Athlone and his wife, hosted President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill.

Out to the terrace I went. The grounds and the gardens beyond beckoned.

The stone lion we see here is one of the numerous pieces on the property, standing alone. Not all of them got incorporated into follys.

Churchill came to visit a number of times during the war, and by all reports, the two men got along very well. I remember a story from Laurier House- the in-town home King lived in at the time in Ottawa. He had Churchill over to visit, and at the time, the British PM had been going through one of his heart ailments. King offered him the use of the home's elevator, but Churchill wanted to take the stairs with King, even entertaining the notion of a race up the stairs.

Another look at this beautiful home.

History

 I took another shot of the meadow at Moorside.

The house is particularly lovely, painted in the cream yellow motif of the estate.

As prime minister, King entertained not just friends and family, but world leaders. Among them was the American president Franklin Roosevelt, seen in a photo on this display outside the main house. Moorside was ideal not just for being a getaway, but a place to get work done.

He also was fond of dogs, particularly terriers.

A portion of the main house is open for visitors. Not as much as the last time I was here- a guide advised that the large ground floor open space was curtained off for a group of dancers who would be performing later. I went into the main entrance, where a wooden bench and stone angels from Britain are on display.

King had a fondness for collecting such things, some of which can be found randomly on the grounds, and others in the form of follys. These angels were once in Westminster Abbey.

A bust up on the second floor is of the great man himself.

Alongside a photo of him here at the estate with one of his dogs.