Veterans Voices of Canada-Military History Museum

10/05/2026

Pleaae share!
We still have tickets available for this unique, one of a kind piece of artwork signed by 4 RCAF WW2 Spitfire pilots(3 aces). You can purchase through transfer online at [email protected] or visti the museum! No limit on ticket purchases.

Please share! Up for raffle!
The famous Barrie Clarke Spitfire print.

Thank you to the previous winner for donating the "four signature" signed print back to us to raffle off again.

Only 250 tickets going out for raffle at $10 apiece. You can purchase as many as you like,via visiting the museum or etransfer to [email protected].

Good luck!
*AGLC Raffle license #788905

10/05/2026

The latest cool addition! The grand-son of a WW1 veteran dropped off the stirrups and bit from the horse the veteran rode during the war. Waiting for more of the story to add to the small display

09/25/2026

CANADIAN PARTICIPATION IN MARKET-GARDEN
September 17-25,1944

Only two CANLOAN officers of 20 that served at Arnhem managed to escape. Lieutenant W. Alex (“Doc”) Harvie and Lieutenant Philip H (Photo)

By early 1944, the British Army found itself short of officers, especially for the infantry and ordnance corps. Canada, on the other hand, had a surplus, and through a scheme called CANLOAN, these young Canadian officers (mostly lieutenants) were assigned to duty with the British Army. In the end 623 infantry officers and 50 ordnance corps officers were so employed, the infantry officers being used as platoon commanders, company second-in-command, and in some cases even as company commanders. An attempt was made to have these officers join their affiliated units. Of the 673 volunteers, 465 became casualties, 127 of them fatal, and over 100 decorations for bravery were made, including 41 awards of the Military Cross.

A total of thirty-two CANLOAN officers were made prisoners during the war, more than half of them during the fighting at Arnhem in September 1944. In fact, the greatest single concentration of the 673 CANLOAN officers was in the 1st Air-landing Brigade of the 1st Airborne Division, which boasted 47 Canadian officers on its rolls (23 serving in the 7th Battalion, The King’s Own Scottish Borderers, 13 in 2nd Battalion, The South Staffordshire Regiment, and 11 in the 1st Battalion, The Border Regiment.) Eight of the KOSB battalion’s 27 platoons were commanded by Canadians. Three Canadians also served in the parachute units of 1st Airborne Division, two with the 1st Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, and Lieutenant James McKenna who was killed with 11 Para on 22 September.

Only one Canadian, Lieutenant Leo Heaps, was with the 1st Parachute Brigade on 17 September, serving in a supernumerary capacity with the headquarters of the 1st Battalion of The Parachute Regiment. Heaps was captured on 25 September though he subsequently escaped and worked with the Dutch Resistance, earning a Military Cross.

Several Canadians landed with the 1st Air-landing Brigade and took part in the early fighting. Lieutenant Albert E. Kipping and Lieutenant Peter B. Mason both served in “D” Company of 7 KOSB. Kipping was killed on the 18th and Mason wounded and captured with men of his platoon. Lieutenant Albert E.F. Wayte was wounded with “C” Company and died of his injuries two days later. On 20 September Lieutenant Martin Kaufmann led a patrol of 7 KOSB outside the perimeter to ambush Germans near the railway embankment and was wounded in a full-scale German attack on the battalion positions later, leaving just two unwounded Canadians in 7 KOSB, Lieutenant Jim Taylor and Lieutenant Erskine Carter. Taylor was captured after being wounded during a German tank attack on “C” Company on 22 September.

Captain Basil W. H. Hingston of the 2nd Staffordshires was killed during the defence of the Drop Zones, and on 19 September Lieutenant Philip Hart Turner led his platoon of 2 Staffords into an attack on a hill at Der Brink. He later commanded part of the perimeter at Oosterbeek. Both actions were mentioned in the citation for a United States Distinguished Service Cross. Lieutenant John A. Wellbelove, one of three CANLOANS to land with 1 Border, was killed defending the area near Westbouing. The other two officers were Lieutenant Clifford M. Aasen and Lieutenant George W. Comper.

A CANLOAN officer was also serving in the 1st Grenadier Guards, part of the 30th Corps units fighting through NIjmegen. Lieutenant Larry Fazackerley was wounded on 20 September with No. 4 Company during an assault to break through to the Waal. There were also CANLOANS in the 4th Battalion of The Dorsetshire Regiment which had reinforced the Poles, and both took part in the crossing. Captain Thomas King and Lieutenant John Foote, the latter in “B” Company. Lieutenant J.L.P.H. Boucher also took part in the ferrying of troops as a CANLOAN officer from the RCE. Assigned to the 204th Field Company of the 43rd Infantry Division, he was awarded the Military Cross for actions on the Lower Rhine during MARKET-GARDEN.

Only two CANLOAN officers of twenty that served at Arnhem managed to escape. Lieutenant W. Alex (“Doc”) Harvie and Lieutenant Philip H. Turner both served with 2nd Battalion, The South Staffordshire Regiment and both were evacuated across the Rhine before the battle ended. Turner received the U.S. Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during the battle.

CANLOAN Officers During MARKET-GARDEN

Rank Name Unit Division Fate
Lieutenant Aasen, Clifford M. 1 Border 1 Airborne POW
Lieutenant Boucher, J.L.P.H. 204 Field Coy, RE 43rd (Wessex) MC
Lieutenant Boustead, Albert E. 2 Staffs 1 Airborne POW
Lieutenant Cameron, Donald A. 7 KOSB 1 Airborne POW
Lieutenant Carter, Erskine E.R.E. 7 KOSB 1 Airborne POW
Lieutenant Comper, George W. 1 Border 1 Airborne POW
Lieutenant Erskine, James S. 2 Staffs 1 Airborne POW
Lieutenant Fazackerley, Larry No. 4 Coy, 1st Grenadier Guards Guards Armoured
Lieutenant Foote, John 4 Dorsets, “B” Coy 43rd (Wessex)
Lieutenant Godfrey, Arthur R. 2 Staffs 1 Airborne POW
Lieutenant Harvie, W. Alex 2 Staffs 1 Airborne Evacuated, MID
Lieutenant Heaps, Leo 1 Para, “HQ” Coy 1 Airborne POW, escaped, MC
Captain Hingston, Basil W. H. 2 Staffs 1 Airborne KIA 19 Sep 1944
Lieutenant Kane, Lawrence 7 KOSB 1 Airborne POW
Lieutenant Kaufmann, Martin 7 KOSB 1 Airborne WIA, POW
Captain King, Thomas 4 Dorsets 43rd (Wessex) POW
Lieutenant Kipping, Albert E. 7 KOSB, “D” Coy 1 Airborne KIA 18 Sep 1944
Lieutenant MacDonald, G. Smith 7 KOSB 1 Airborne POW
Lieutenant MacDonald, John J. 2 Staffs 1 Airborne POW
Lieutenant Mason, Peter B 7 KOSB, “D” Coy 1 Airborne POW
Captain McCourt, James F 7 KOSB 1 Airborne POW
Lieutenant McKenna, James 11 Para 1 Airborne KIA 22 Sep 1944
Lieutenant Norwood, Carlisle 2 Staffs 1 Airborne POW
Lieutenant P***n, Frank F. 2 Staffs 1 Airborne WIA, evaded capture
Lieutenant Taylor, Jim 7 KOSB, “C” Coy 1 Airborne WIA, POW
Lieutenant Taylor, Kenneth 2 Staffs 1 Airborne POW
Lieutenant Turner, Philip Hart 2 Staffs 1 Airborne Evacuated, DSC
Lieutenant Wayte, Albert E.F. 7 KOSB, “C” Coy 1 Airborne DOW 20 Sep 1944
Lieutenant Wellbelove, John A. 1 Border 1 Airborne KIA 25 Sep 1944


One officer of 2 Staffords, Lieutenant Frank P***n, was wounded during the fighting at Arnhem, but went into hiding with a Dutch family. He managed to find his way back to British lines and eventually the U.K. where he joined the 12th Battalion, the Parachute Regiment. He was captured during the Rhine Crossing when he made a second combat jump with the 6th Airborne Division.

THE CANADIAN ROLE IN EVACUATION OF THE BRITISH 1st AIRBORNE DIV. FROM ARNHEM-OOSTERBEEK, SEPTEMBER 1944 – by David Bennett
This article will describe and evaluate the part played by two Canadian engineer companies, the 20th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers, under the command of Major A.W. Jones, and the 23rd Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers, commanded by Major M.L. Tucker, in the evacuation of 1st Airborne on the night of D+8 – a story that has thus far been buried in official reports and privately published memoirs.

The Historiography of the Evacuation
The evacuation of 1st Airborne Division over the Lower Rhine from Oosterbeek was carried out by four engineer companies, the 553rd and 260th Field Companies, Royal Engineers, and the

20th and 23rd Field Companies, Royal Canadian Engineers, of which the last of these played, in practice, by far the most important role in the evacuation. In the accounts of the evacuation, the names and identity of these Canadian companies are almost never mentioned beyond the original archival documents, and, occasionally, in unit histories. The most one usually finds are references to motorized storm-boats, used by the two Canadian companies, or a reference to the fact that Canadian engineer units were involved. This is certainly the case with respect to two famous accounts of Market Garden, those of Cornelius Ryan and Martin Middlebrook. In the latter case, the author downplays the role of the Canadians, stating that motorized storm-boats were not used in the 20th Company sector, hardly acknowledging that most of the airborne troops were evacuated by the Canadians. Other standard accounts follow this pattern, with the result that the full, balanced story of the evacuation has not yet been told. Why this glaring omission? The answers are speculative, but they are likely twofold. The first is that the British commands, from ### Corps on down, botched the attempt to reinforce 1st Airborne Division in Oosterbeek. Though bridging units were available in the vicinity of Nijmegen, no attempt was made to bring them forward until midday on D+7; they were then immediately stood down from reinforcement initiatives, to be replaced by the plans for an evacuation. The four engineer companies came under the oversight of yet another unit, the 204th Engineer Company, Royal Engineers. At some level, quite probably at that of the 204th Company, the engineers were reluctant to employ the motorized storm-boats, on which only the Canadians had been trained, either for the reinforcement operation or for the evacuation. The British apparently did not trust them. Middlebrook furthered this legacy when he rather smugly suggested that the storm-boats were too noisy to be used in the 20th Company sector, and that they would give away the evacuation proceedings. Therefore, it is quite possible that the British did not want to admit that the evacuation only succeeded because of troops and equipment in which they had no confidence, and whose use they had attempted to subvert. Browning, the British Airborne Corps commander, wrote to the Commanding Officer (CO) of the 4th Dorsets after the evacuation, thanking the battalion for “the magnificent show you put up in enabling the survivors of the 1st Airborne Division to withdraw across the river. As will be seen, this is exceptionally misrepresentative. The least that can be said about Browning’s words is that this is what the British wanted to believe. The second reason why the role of the Canadians has not been acknowledged may well be the bitterness felt by the survivors of 1st Airborne towards all the relieving forces, essentially the Guards Armoured Division and the 43rd (Wessex) Division. Though the rank and file of ### Corps were the least to blame for the failure of the relief efforts, none of their members have been made welcome at anniversary celebrations of the Battle

of Arnhem-Oosterbeek, not even the 4th Dorsets, who suffered grievously in the battle, and a few of whom joined 1st Airborne in the Oosterbeek perimeter after their crossing on the night of D+7. The Canadians have been condemned by association with the relieving forces, despite the fact that, without them, the evacuation would undoubtedly have failed. Two Canadian officers, Major Michael L.Tucker, DSO, CO of the 23rd Company, and Lieutenant Russell Kennedy, MC, the unit’s Reconnaissance Officer, deserve a place in the memories of Market Garden no less than the operation’s legendary heroes, such as Lieutenant-Colonel Reuben Tucker and Major Julian Cook of the US 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment – remembered for their part in the assault crossing of the Waal – and Lieutenant-Colonel John Frost, whose reinforced 2nd Parachute Battalion defended the north end of the Arnhem bridge until D+3.“

09/22/2026

You know you've got a good veteran dude friend when he hangs out with you most of the night and early morning to "install" a crosswalk of coolness at Parkland Mall, Red Deer.

This guy is a multi tour Bosnia, Afghanistan and many other deploy veteran.

Thanks for all of the constant and reliable support you've given and continue to give to what we do at Veterans Voices of Canada. Graham does a ton of work around the world to many causes when the call comes, many humanitarian...and asks for NOTHING in return. (Well, maybe a MacDonalds coffee. Lol) And, he's an all important farmer as well. Thanks for it all G!
For those who've asked? No were not finished the crosswalk, one more eve to finish it off properly.
Thank you Parkland Mall admin for allowing us to be to be the first of many Im sure Remembrance crosswalk in Red Deer. Thanks to Trevor Pragnell of Budget Graphics and Design and Cloverdale Paints for their donations to the cause.
Walk the crosswalk into our Veterans Voices of Canada-Military History Museum .
Stand by!
💪

09/19/2026

We,will be closed this Saturday, September 19th for our Veterans Voices of Canada-Flags of Remembrance National tribute.
Sorry for the inconvenience!

09/15/2026

The world mourns the loss of Eva Schloss, an Auschwitz survivor, author, educator, mother, grandmother, and tireless guardian of Holocaust memory, who passed away in London at the age of 96. Her life was marked by unimaginable suffering, profound loss, extraordinary resilience, and an unwavering commitment to ensuring that the lessons of the Holocaust would never be forgotten.🕊️

Born Eva Geiringer in Vienna in 1929, Eva grew up in a loving Jewish family with her parents, Erich and Elfriede, and her older brother, Heinz. When N**i persecution intensified following the annexation of Austria, her family was forced to flee. They eventually found refuge in Amsterdam, where Eva's life briefly continued with the ordinary joys of childhood.

It was in Amsterdam that Eva knew Anne Frank. The two girls lived in the same neighborhood and shared the familiar experiences of childhood before the Holocaust transformed their lives. Neither could have known how profoundly history would later connect their families.

As the persecution of Jews intensified throughout the Netherlands, Eva and her family were forced into hiding. For a time, they managed to escape detection, living under constant fear and uncertainty. But on 11 May 1944, Eva's 15th birthday, their hiding place was betrayed. Eva and her family were arrested by the N**is and deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

At just fifteen years old, Eva was thrust into a world of unimaginable cruelty. At Auschwitz, she endured starvation, fear, humiliation, separation, and the constant threat of death. She survived the concentration camp, but the people she loved most did not. Her father, Erich, and her brother, Heinz, were murdered during the Holocaust.

Eva emerged from Auschwitz carrying not only the physical scars of persecution, but also the unbearable grief of losing members of her family. Yet despite everything that had been taken from her, she chose to rebuild her life rather than allow hatred to define it.

After the war, Eva returned to the Netherlands with her mother. In the years that followed, her mother's marriage to Otto Frank, Anne Frank's father, made Eva Anne's posthumous stepsister. Their connection created an extraordinary and deeply painful link between two families whose lives had been forever changed by the Holocaust.

But Eva Schloss was never simply “Anne Frank’s stepsister.” She was a survivor with her own story, her own memories, and her own losses. For decades, she carried the burden of memories that were almost impossible to speak about—memories of persecution, hiding, deportation, Auschwitz, and the devastating loss of her father and beloved brother, Heinz. Yet, with extraordinary courage, she eventually chose to break the silence.

Rather than allowing the horrors of her past to consume the rest of her life, Eva transformed her pain into purpose. She began sharing her testimony with generations of young people, educators, and audiences around the world, speaking with remarkable honesty about what she had endured and what the Holocaust had taken from her family.

She understood that her survival came with a responsibility: to remember those who were murdered, to preserve their stories, and to warn future generations about the devastating consequences of hatred, antisemitism, prejudice, and indifference.

Her testimony was not simply a story about what happened in the past. It was a message to the present, and a warning for the future.

Eva often reminded young people that hatred does not appear overnight. It can begin with words, stereotypes, discrimination, and the gradual acceptance of another human being as somehow less worthy of dignity and compassion.

That is why she continued to speak.

She spoke for her father, Erich.

She spoke for her brother, Heinz.

She spoke for the millions who were murdered and could never tell their own stories.

And she spoke for the generations who would come after her.

Through her books, including Eva’s Story and After Auschwitz, and through decades of Holocaust education and public speaking, Eva turned memories of unimaginable suffering into a call.

And now, it is our turn to remember.

Her story will not end with her passing.

As long as her story is told, her voice will continue to reach generations yet unborn.

As long as her memory is preserved, the lives of those she carried with her will not be forgotten.

And as long as we choose compassion over hatred, understanding over prejudice, and humanity over indifference, the legacy of Eva Schloss will continue to live.

09/14/2026

Please share! Its going to be one heck of a tribute...as always. Come along, bring a lawn chair, and experience no other tribute to our heroes like it. Pipe and drum bands, VIP speakers and our signature veteran flag line horse walk as the flags unfurl to fly in the wind.
We still have remaining flag and plaque sponsorships available until all 128 are spoken for. If all plaques are sponsored, we will also donate to a local organization doing good work. Help us do the important work we do, 365 days a year!
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09/10/2026

On September 10, 1939, Canada Canadian declaration of war on Germany officially declared war on Germany, marking the country's independent entry into the Second World War.

Sovereignty: Unlike in World War I when Britain's declaration automatically included Canada, the 1931 Statute of Westminster meant Canada entered the war as a sovereign nation.

Parliamentary Process: Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King sought parliamentary approval. Following a debate, the House of Commons and Senate voted in favor before the formal proclamation was signed by King George VI.

The Military: Canada began the conflict with a modest regular force, but over one million Canadians eventually served during the war between 1939 and 1945.