By 1665 virtually every parish in what was known as "the
new world" could muster some form of militia for local
protection. Militias were military forces raised from the
civilian population and were often used to supplement regular
army or standing military units. In 1759 six of these units
of battalion size took part in the defence of Québec.
In the War of 1812 the brunt of the fighting along the American
frontier was borne by British permanent forces and "Fencible"
units (colonial volunteers in British Army units who could
not be obliged to fight outside their home provinces unless
they volunteered for that as well). But the militia was employed
on active service in 1837 during the so called "Canadian
Rebellions". They were also employed in 1866 and 1867
during the "Fenian Raids" and in 1870 against the
first Métis uprisings. The need for troops during the
Fenian Raids caused the reactivation and reorganization of
Canada’s military forces under Georges Etienne Cartier’s
"First Dominion Militia Bill" of 1868.
By 1876 the federal government had started work on the Royal
Military College of Canada. In 1885 some 5,000 members of
the militia, the permanent force and the Northwest Mounted
Police saw service during the Northwest Rebellion. In the
same year Canada contributed military contingents to Lord
Wolsely’s Nile Expedition.
From 1899 to 1902 Canada provided 7,369 men for service
in the South African (Boer) War of which 224 were killed.
By 1910 a Department of the Navy had been formed and two ships
purchased, the Niobe and the Rainbow, and the Royal Canadian
Navy came into being on 4 May 1910.
By 1914 Canada was populated by 7.5 million people and had
a militia of some 57,000 members. But within three weeks of
the outbreak of the First World War more than 45,000 people had volunteered
for military service. The first 30,000 Canadian troops bound
for the war set sail from Gaspé, Québec for
England on 3 and 4 October, 1914, aboard 33 ships. The "Great
War", as it was dubbed, lasted just over four years and
is generally seen by historians as the period when Canada
came of age as a nation and began to emerge as a significant
power on the world stage.
While army and navy forces played a substantial role in
the First World War, the newly formed flying corps used at the time
was part of the army. It was to become the Royal Canadian
Air Force and was formed as such on 1 April, 1924.
World War II commenced in September 1939 and by its end
some six years later 237,000 men and women would have served
in Northwest Europe and 97,500 in Italy. There were also 1,975
Canadians stationed in Hong Kong early in the war with Japan.
After a short fight with the Japanese, Hong Kong fell in December
1941 and 557 of the troops were either killed or died in prisoner
of war camps where those not killed in the fighting were sent.
Those who survived stayed in these camps for the remainder
of the war under horrific conditions.
Canada’s support to the Korean War under the United
Nations entailed 20,000 army personnel, three Royal Canadian
Navy destroyers and 426 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air
Force which supplied air transport resources.
Canada’s military forces "unified" under
the Canadian Forces Reorganization Bill of 1 February, 1968.
All three forces adopted a single colour green uniform until
1988 when traditional service uniforms came back into being.
The forces, which had become commands under this unified system,
also returned to being called the army, navy and air force
but the unification of common systems and services remains
in place.
Peacekeeping has dominated Canadian military operations
since the Suez Crisis of 1956. Canada has participated in
some form or other in almost all United Nations peacekeeping
missions since that time.
In the 1990s Canada participated in the Gulf War, defeating
Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait. In 2001 it joined with
its NATO allies in conducting the "War on Terrorism"
precipitated by terrorist attacks on the United States. 145 military personnel have lost their lives serving in Afghanistan as of May 18, 2010.
During World War I Canadian merchant seaman served aboard
ships that came under enemy attack during voyages on the high
seas. But at the outbreak of World War II there were only
37 Canadian vessels registered for foreign voyages and nearly
half that number were lost to enemy attacks early in the war.
More than 1,400 Canadian merchant seamen served on these ships.
In 1941 an Order in Council called for the establishment of
Merchant Seaman Manning Pools. The order also created training
schools and facilities as required and encouraged the assistance
and coordination of the extension of facilities in Canadian
ports for the welfare of these seamen.
The Pools were established in Halifax (September 1941),
Montreal (January 1942), Vancouver (May 1942), and Saint John
(July 1942). Eventually, Canada had the largest merchant fleet
in the history of the Dominions with 180 ocean-going cargo
vessels and 14,000 skilled seamen of all ranks. The Pools
provided for the maintenance of a reserve of qualified personnel
and offered seamen continuous pay and a home between voyages,
provided they agreed to accept assignment to Canadian foreign-going
ships.
- 16 January 1991 - Gulf War begins
- 01 February 1968 - Canadian military forces
unify
- 18 February 1900 - Battle of Paardeberg (South African War)
- 21 February 1916 - Battle of Verdun
- 25 February 1955 - Women become part of the RCN
- 28 February 1991 - Gulf War ends
- 01 March 1942 - Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWAC) formed
- 06 March 1945 - Allies take Cologne
- 14 March 1915 - Battle of Saint Eloi
- 21 March 1898 -
Yukon Field Force organized
- 26 March 1885 - North-West Rebellion Campaign in Canada begins
- 28 March 1944 - The Battle of Bourlon took place in Italy
- April 1942 - Campaign to free Burma begins (WW2)
- 01 April 1924 - Today the RCAF officially came into existence
- 04 April 1949 - NATO Accord signed by Canada
- 9-12 April 1917 - Battle of Vimy Ridge
- 10 April 1866-1871 - Fenian Raids: Irish Brotherhood launches raids into
Canada in support of Irish independence
- 11 April 1855 - Militia Act
- 17 April 1915 - 2nd Battle of Ypres begins (2nd of three)
- 17 April 1945 - Last Canadian ship lost in WW2
- 22-24 April 1915 - Battle of St. Julien (Ypres)
- 24 April 1885 - North-West Rebellion, Battle of Fish Creek
- 24-26 April 1951 - Battle of Kap-yong (Korea)
- 29 April 1991 - Gulf War official cease-fire
- May 1943 - Battle of the Atlantic (31 U-boats sunk)
- 02 May 1885 - North-West Rebellion, Battle of Cut Knife
- 03 May 1915 - 2nd Battle of Ypres ends (2nd of three)
- 04 May 1910 - The Naval Service Act establishes the Canadian Navy
- 08 May 1945 - Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day)
- 09 May 1885 - North-West Rebellion, Battle of Battoche
- 11 May 1939 - Battle of the St. Laurence
- 12 May 1885 - North-West Campaign ends
- 12 May 1958 - NORAD created
- 15-25 May 1915 - Battle of Festubert
- 21 May 1939 - National War Memorial unveiled
- 23 May 1947 - Canadian Rangers organized
- 28 May 2000 - The sarcophagus of the Unknown Soldier is laid to rest at the
National War Memorial in Ottawa
- 31 May 1902 - South African War ends
- 01 June 1876 - The Royal Military College opens its doors in Kingston
- 06 June 1944 - Normandy invasion (D-Day)
- 10 June 1940 - Canada declares war with Italy
- 11 June 1917 - PM Robert Borden introduced the Military Service Act to
the House of Commons
- 25 June 1950 - Korean War begins
- 01 July 1867
- With Confederation, the Dominion of Canada becomes a nation
- 01 July 1916
- Battle of the Somme begins
- 01 July 1916 - Battle of Beaumont Hamel (Royal Newfoundland
Regiment)
- 02 July 1904 - Canadian Army Medical corps organized
- 02 July 1941 - Canadian Women’s Auxiliary Air Force formed
- 10 July 1940 - Battle of Britain begins
- 10 July 1943 - Allied Invasion of Sicily
- 22 July 1940 - The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP)
begins at Camp Borden, Ontario
- 26 July 1936 -
King Edward VIII unveils the Vimy Ridge memorial in France
- 27 July 1953 - Korean War ends
- 31 July 1942 - The Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service is founded
- 04 August 1914 - World War I begins
- 07 August 1950 - Canada announces entry into Korean War
- 15 August 1945 - Victory Over Japan Day (V-J Day)
- 19 August 1942 - Dieppe Raid
- 27 August 1942 - Women’s RCN Service Established
- 29 August 1917 - Conscription becomes law in Canada
- 29 August 1911 - His Majesty the King has authorized that the Canadian
Naval Forces
are to be designated the
Royal Canadian Navy (RCN)
- 30 August 1945 - Liberation of Hong Kong
- 31 August 1946 - Women’s RCN Service disbanded
- 02 September 1918 -
Battle of Arras, France
- 02 September 1945 - World War II ends in Europe
- 03 September 1939 - UK and France declare war on Nazi Germany –
WW2 begins
- 03 September 1943 - Invasion of Mainland Italy
- 05 September 1918 - RCN Air Service authorized
- 10 September 1939 - Canada declares war on Nazi Germany
- 15 September 1993 - Battle of Medak Pocket Croatia - Canadian Forces
personnel, while peacekeeping in Croatia,
become involved in a fierce firefight
- 16 September 1914 - Canadian Aviation Corps authorized
- 27 September 1918 - Battle of Bourbon Wood
- 27 September 1918 - Battle of Canal du Nord
- 01 October 1990 - Two months after Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait,
HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Terra Nova sail on 1st
Multinational Interception Force (MIF) patrol
- 02 October 1944 - Battle of the Scheldt Estuary
- 08 October 2001 - Departure of the 1st CF units to join the international
campaign against terrorism. A Naval Task Group of four
ships was deployed to the Persian gulf under
Operation APOLLO
- 11 October 1899 - South African War begins
- 12 October 1917 - 1st Battle of Passchendaele (3rd Battle of Ypres)
- 14 October 1914 -
Canada’s 1st overseas contingent starts to disembark at
Plymouth, England
- 14 October 1978 - Unveiling of United Nations National Memorial in
Pusan, Korea
- 18 October 2005 - Operation ATHENA ended with the withdrawal of the
Canadian
reconnaissance squadron from ISAF, and the
end of five deployments
of CF personnel to the Kabul
area since August 2003
- 24 October 1945 - UN established
- 26 October 1917 -
2nd Battle of Passchendaele begins
- 31 October 1914 - 1st Battle of Ypres begins (1st of 3)
- 31 October 1940 - Battle of Britain ends
- 10 November 1917 - The Battle of Passchendaele ends (3rd battle of Ypres)
- 11 November 1918 -
After four years and three months of fighting, the Great
War is suddenly ended by an armistice at 11:00 a.m
- 17 November 1914 - 1st Battle of Ypres ends (1st of 3)
- 18 November 1916 - Battle of the Somme ends
- 19 November 1938 - RCAF gains parity with RCN and Canadian Army
- 20 November 1917 - Battle of Cambrai
- 06 December 1917 - Halifax Explosion
- 08 December 1915 - “In Flanders Fields” published
- 09 December 1941 - Battle of Hong Kong begins
- 10 December 1988 - Nobel Prize awarded to Peacekeepers
- 20 December 1915 -
Evacuation of Gallipoli (Royal Newfoundland Regiment)
- 25 December 1941 - After a week’s battle, British, Indian and Canadian forces
surrender the island of Hong Kong to Japanese forces
South Africa (1899-1902) - approximately 7,000
World War I (1914-1918) - 628,736 (includes 4,518 women)
World War II (1939-1945) - 1,081,865 (includes 49,963 women)
Korean War (1950-1953) - 26,791
Gulf War (1991) - 4,074 (includes 237 women)
South Africa (1899-1902) - 267 dead
World War I (1914-1918) - 66,573 dead
World War II (1939-1945) - 44,927 dead (includes 73 women)
Korean War (1950-1953) - 516 dead
Gulf War (1991) - 0 combat casualties
South Africa (1899-1902) - no record available
World War I (1914-1918) - 138,166
World War II (1939-1945) - 53,145 (includes 19 women)
Korean War (1950-1953) - 1,558
Gulf War (1991) - 0 combat wounded
South Africa (1899-1902) - no record available
World War I (1914-1918) - 2,818
World War II (1939-1945) - 8,271
Korean War (1950-1953) - 33
Gulf War (1991) - 0
- 16,922 served
- 1,593 died
- wounded unknown
- 180 Pows
- 19,460 served
- 704 died
- wounded unknown
- POWs unknown
1,400 served on the original 37 Canadian ships registered
at the start of World War I
14, 000 served on registered ships during World War II
175 died by enemy action in World War I
1,146 died by enemy action in World War II
1,059 names on the Halifax Monument (place of burial unknown)
More than 125,000 have served on missions since 1948
More than 115 have died while on missions
P.E.I. 9,309 Que. 176,441 Sask./ N.W.T. 80,605
N.S. 59,355 Ont. 398,808 Alta. 77,703
N.B. 45,137 Man. 76,444 B.C / Yuk. 90,976
Males 1,031,902
Females 49,963
TOTAL 1,081,865
It is estimated that more than 136,000 Canadians served on
the sea, on land and in the air with NATO forces from 1952
to 1994. Of these more than 780 died while on duty during
this 42 year period.
130 military people killed as of September, 2009.
Lt. Alexander Robert Dunn, 25 October, 1854
Able Seaman William Hall, 16 November, 1857
Surgeon Herbert Taylor Reade, 14 September, 1857
Surgeon Campbell Millis Douglas, 7 May, 1867
Sgt Arthur Herbert Lindsey Richardson, 5 July, 1900
Lt. Hampden Zane Churchill Cockburn, 7 November, 1900
Sgt. Edward James Gibson Holland, 7 November, 1900
Lt. Richard Ernest William Turner, 7 November, 1900
LCpl. Michael O'Leary, 1 February 1915 ( Not recognized as a Canadian VC in some circles
as he only lived
in Canada for three years
while serving with the RNWMP)
Capt. Francis Alexander Caron Scrimger, 22 April, 1915
LCpl. Frederick Fisher, 23 April, 1915
C.S.M. Frederick William Hall, 24 April 1915
Lt. Edward Donald Bellew, 24 April, 1915
Lt. Frederick William Campbell, 15 June, 1915
Lt. Thomas Orde Lawder Wilkinson, 5 July, 1916
A/Cpl. Leo Clarke, 9 September, 1916
Pte. John Chipman Kerr, 16 September, 1916
Piper James Cleland Richardson, 8 October, 1916
Lt. Frederick Maurice Watson Harvey, 27 March, 1917
Maj. Thain Wendell MacDowell, 9 April, 1917
Pte. William Johnstone Milne, 9 April, 1917
LSgt. Ellis Wellwood Sifton, 9 April, 1917
Pte. John George Pattison, 10 April, 1917
Lt. Robert Grierson Combe, 3 May, 1917
Capt. William Avery Bishop, 2 June, 1917
Pte. Michael James O'Rourke, 15 August 1917
Pte. Harry Brown, 16 August, 1917
Sgt. Frederick Hobson, 18 August, 1917
Maj. Okill Massey Learmonth, 18 August, 1917
C.S.M. Robert Hanna, 21 August, 1917
Cpl. Filip Konowal, 21 August, 1917
Lt.-Col. Philip Eric Bent, 10 October, 1917
Pte. Thomas William Holmes, 26 October, 1917
Lt. Robert Shankland, 26 October, 1917
Capt. Christopher Patrick John O'Kelly, 26 October, 1917
Pte. Cecil John Kinross, 29 October, 1917
Sgt. George Harry Mullin, 30 October, 1917
Lt. Hugh MacKenzie, 30 October, 1917
Maj. George Randolph Pearkes, 30 October, 1917
Cpl. Colin Fraser Barron, 6 November, 1917
Pte. James Peter Robertson, 6 November, 1917
Lt. Harcus Strachan, 20 November, 1917
2Lt. Edmund De Wind, 21 March, 1918
Lt. Alan Arnett McLeod, 27 March, 1918
Lt. Gordon Muriel Flowerdew, 30 March, 1918
Lt. George Burdon McKean, 27/28 April, 1918
Lt. Rowland Richard Louis Bourke, 10 May, 1918
Cpl. Joseph Kaeble, 8 June, 1918
Pte. John Bernard Croak, 8 August, 1918
Cpl. Herman James Good, 8 August, 1918
Lt. Jean Brillant, 8 August, 1918
Cpl. Harry Garnet Bedford Miner, 8 August, 1918
Cpl. Alexander Picton Brereton, 9 August, 1918
Cpl. Frederick George Coppins, 9 August 1918
Lt. James Edward Tait, 9 August, 1918
Sgt. Raphael Louis Zengel, 9 August, 1918
Pte. Thomas Dinesen, 12 August, 1918
Sgt. Robert Spall, 12 August, 1918
Lt. Charles Smith Rutherford, 26 August, 1918
Lt.-Col. William Hew Clark-Kennedy, 27 August, 1918
Pte. Claude Joseph Patrick Nunney, 1 September, 1918
Sgt. Arthur George Knight, 2 September, 1918
LCpl. William Henry Metcalf, 2 September, 1918
Col. Cyrus Wesley Peck, 2 September, 1918
Capt. Bellenden Seymour Hutcheson, 2 September, 1918
Cpl. Walter Leigh Rayfield, 2 September, 1918
Pte. John Francis Young, 2 September, 1918
Lt. Samuel Lewis Honey, 27 September, 1918
Lt. George Fraser Kerr, 27 September, 1918
Lt. Graham Thomson Lyall, 27 September, 1918
Lt. Milton Fowler Gregg, 28 September, 1918
Capt. John MacGregor, 29 September, 1918
Sgt. William Merrifield, 1 October, 1918
Capt. Coulson Norman Mitchell, 8 October, 1918
Lt. Wallace Lloyd Algie, 11 October, 1918
Pte. Thomas Ricketts, 14 October, 1918
Maj. William George Barker, 27 October, 1918
Sgt. Hugh Cairns, 1 November, 1918
C.S.M. John Robert Osborne, December 19, 1941
Lt.-Col. Charles Cecil Ingersoll Merritt, August 19, 1942
The Reverend (Hon. Capt.) John Weir Foote, August 19, 1942
Capt. (RCN) Frederick Thornton Peters, November 8, 1942
Capt. Paul Triquet, December 14, 1943
Maj. Charles Ferguson Hoey, February 16, 1944
Maj. John Keefer Mahony, May 24, 1944
Plt. Offr. Andrew Charles Mynarski, June 12, 1944
Flt. Lt. David Ernest Hornell, June 25, 1944
Sqn. Ldr. Ian Willoughby Bazalgette, August 4, 1944
Maj. David Vivian Currie, August 18-20, 1944
Pte. Ernest Alvia Smith, October 21-22, 1944
Sgt. Aubrey Cosens, February 25-26, 1945
Maj. Frederick Albert Tilston, March 1, 1945
Cpl. Frederick George Topham, March 24, 1945
Lieut. (RCNVR) Robert Hampton Gray, August 9, 1945
