Here in the Netherlands 🇳🇱, we remember the Canadians. Lots of people fought in and over the Netherlands, (Arnhem, the Scheldt), but the Canadians did most of the heavy lifting, and are considered the main liberators here. It was quite the relief, at the time, and people were very happy and grateful. They were literally starving at the time, so the Canadians were very, very welcome. Thanks again for that.
I dated a Dutch man whose parents, as teens, sabotaged bridges, roads, anything German they could find. At night. No lights. Dead if caught. Because of Canada’s liberation of the Netherlands, his parents and their siblings emigrated to Canada. They are so appreciative, all these decades later, of our help. They’re very proud to be Canadians. It’s an honour to have known them.
In my city (in Canada) we have a large Carillon in our city centre park, donated by the Netherlands as a memorial and appreciation for the Canadian efforts there in WWII. I'm glad we're friends and I should really visit :)
Thank you for creating a video on this topic. I was an American tourist from Seattle on holiday near 11 November 1999 to Vancouver Island British Columbia. Imagine my surprise when I found a painting on one of the ferries about the Flower Class Corvette HMCS ALBERNI. The brass plaque on the frame mentioned the loss of 59 of her crew in 1944 by the German UBoot U480. But it was the sacredness of Remembrance Day that Canadians felt that moved me so much that I returned to Seattle, quit my job, immigrated to British Columbia and created the HMCS ALBERNI Museum and Memorial (HAMM) and The Alberni Project Society. Imagine an American, born and raised in the shadow of Yellowstone, growing up truly believing that my father and John Wayne single-handedly won the Second World War now making sure that the history of the Canadian Forces be preserved for future generations.
Wow! Such an amazing history and contribution. Thank you, from Montreal for keeping lives, spirits and memories, Alive. Please let me know when the movie, and or book, is coming out :) I'll be there opening night. Cheers from Canada Merci beaucoup pour tous
When my first wife and I were tourists in the Netherlands in 1976, the people in Amsterdam treated us like we kicked out the Nazis the day before. Any male. female, any age, and coming from a Dutch-Canadian farming community we felt right at home and appreciated. Thank you for the rememberance.
The Canadian Tulip Festival is the direct result of Princess Margriet being born at the Ottawa Civic Hospital. The Dutch Royal Family gifted 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa 1945 and to this day 20,000 tulip bulbs are gifted to Canada each year by the Netherlands.
American perspective: Canadian contributions in WWI and WWII are immeasurable. They answered the call in 1914 and fought the end in 1918. In WWII Canada joined England in 1939 and fought in all theatres of the European War to include D-Day where they went ashore on Juno Beach. In the air, on the land, and on the water Canada was instrumental in the victories of both world wars. I had the honor of serving with Canadian troops. Our great friend and neighbor to the north!
@@willcruickshankw5527: Indeed they did, but only directly in Hong Kong in December 1941, when the Imperial Japanese Army attacked, invaded & occupied the British Empire’s Crown Colony there! Some, very few individuals however (Volunteers), Canadians (Literally, only a handful) did fight & serve in mainland China, such as Dr. Norman Bethune, who was a volunteer medical officer (Surgeon) attached to Mao Tse Tung’s Communist Army, who were then fighting both Chiang Kai Shek’s Nationalist’s (Koumintang’s) Forces as well as the invading Japanese Imperial Army in conflicts that lasted altogether between 1931 to 1949 there!! Actually, more Canadian 🍁volunteers in those days wanting to fight Fascism, Nazism or Japanese Imperialism, were more motivated to go to Spain & fight in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) for the Republicans-side, rather than in China & fight for their ideals there, and likely as not, voluntarily join the International Brigades in one of their MacKenzie-Papineau battalions of the Lincoln-Washington Brigade consisting then of mainly American & Canadian volunteers!!
Canada doesn't have to brag about how great it is, it's obvious by how the world views and treats Canada. though it is nice to be recognized for our accomplishments every once in a while.
I used to be very nationalistic in my youth, however I've since changed, as Canada has it's own set of problems. If you allow yourself to be blinded by nationalism you'll never fix the problems with your country, and will never get better. I love Canada but we are a flawed place and should never forget it.
As an American veteran, I am well aware of the contributions by Canadian troops, particularly on the drive up the east coast of Italy and in Normandy, Where the 3rd ID faced hard fighting and prevailed. Canadian troops in WW2 were elite units, imo.
One small accomplishment ( Operation Eclipse 1945) that always go unnoticed is the saving of Denmark from being occupied by Soviet forces in April 1945. A small group of lightly armed Canadian paratroopers occupied the city of Wismar in northern Germany, a town that was to be in the Soviet sphere of control. They set up roadblocks to stop the Russian T 34 tanks. It was basically to delay the Soviets a couple of days, so Allied forces could occupy Denmark. Stay safe, stay sane, stay strong Ukraine 🇺🇦
The Canadians raced to the town, set up camp, and told the Soviets (paraphrasing here), "It would be a shame if we had to use this artillery division just over that hill that we totally have supporting us."
800 Canadian paratroopers, and 21 British tanks had a Mexican stand off with and entire guards tank army (Approx 120,000 men 500ish tanks). The Canadians didn't blink. Even shot a few Russians who tried to break into the town at night. Ice in their veins.
@@stevestruthers6180 Brits? Dude they said British tanks we USED British tanks in WW2 he never said British run British tanks dude. So it was just us Cunucks
Well done, Canada! Could I suggest another one, this time on Australia? Such things as… 1. The Kokoda Trek where we fought a withdrawal across New Guinea until backed on to Port Moresby before they were halted and pushed all the way back over the Owen Stanley Ranges. Made more admirable when you consider this was done by the “Choco’s”, reservists described as “Chocolate Soldiers” because they would melt in the heat of battle. 2. Milne Bay - The first land defeat inflicted on the Japanese Army, also in New Guinea. 3. Our part in the defence of Tobruk…the famous Rats of Tobruk. 4. Or the Goebels named “Scrap Iron Flotilla” that ran supplies and fresh troops into Tobruk and taking the wounded out. 5. Z-Force - the attack on Singapore by frogmen. Or what happened to them and others on the Burma Railway… Just to get you started.
TY from a Canadian. A mini brag is OK by me once in a blue moon. You are among the very few, who recall openly , that Canadian troops got the deepest on D-Day. Heard they had to pull back for fear of being flanked, an cut off.
Really glad you put this out . My grandfather was a radio man in ww2 and was there D-Day , made it home from war and had a heart attack. EdwardTaylor Murray RIP🇨🇦
Princess Margriet of The Netherlands was born in Ottawa Civic Hospital, as the Dutch Royal Family had gone into exile in Canada in 1940. Also, The Netherlands continues to send 20,000 tulips to Ottawa every year.
As an American, I’m glad to hear about nations other than America who sacrificed so much. There are other nations and cultures who contributed so much in WWI and WWII that aren’t discussed about as much. From Canadians and Aussies to Gurkhas to French, and yes Soviet’s. They all gave more than we can comprehend or appreciate and imagine in todays modern warfare.
Another amazing video Simon, Ty. I served 12 years in the military here in Canada ( Ret.Sgt ) I served 3 years in the Reserves with a a Highland regiment on the East Coast (2NSH) they had battle honors from Vimy Ridge and Dieppe, and I served the remainder of my career with 2RCR . I can assure you what we lack in quantity we make up for in quality of soldiers . 🇨🇦
My grandfather took part in the Scheldt campaign, it was a very brutal affair, comparable to Passchendaele in The Great War. In the final days of the campaign his cousin’s Sterling bomber was shot down only a few miles north of where my grandfather was on the ground. No one survived the crash. The whole crew is buried together in a Dutch town’s community cemetery laying among the people they died to help liberate. I hope to visit their graves one day.
One Canadian contribution to the World War 2 effort was artillery spotter plane pilots. These were drawn from many sources, and one was a Candian artillery lieutenant from Vancouver BC who was injured storming Juno, and could have been sent home because of his injuries were fairly severe, but wanted to fight. He got recruited for the spotter pilot job, graduated from Air Observation Pilot Course 40 with eleven other Canadian artillery officers and flew Taylorcraft Auster Mark V aircraft for 666 (AOP) Squadron, RCAF as a Royal Canadian Artillery officer in support of 1st Army Group Royal Canadian Artillery. Flying the Auster, which had no armour, or weapons, but flew over enemy lines to help guide artillery strikes. He became quite the aviator! At one point, he slalomed his Taylorcraft Auster through a series of telelgraph polls! Although he was never actually a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, he was once labelled the "craziest pilot in the Canadian Air Force". His name? James Doohan, but most of the planet knows him as Montgomery Scott, or Scotty, the head engineer of the USS Enterprise during the command of Captain Kirk.
I once heard a funny clip that was edited and never heard from a CBC radio broadcast interviewing a soldier in Europe as the war raged . The journalist said that Canadian soldiers have a reputation for cursing excessively . Why is that ? The soldier replied "Because we've been here the F&^%n longest !"
Thank you SO much, Simon!! When I went to Western Europe several years ago, I was overwhelmed by how much the people remembered our Canadian soldiers. We are VASTLY underrepresented in war movies and books.
Thanks for finally showing Canada. My father fought in the war and was in both D-day and the Battle of the Bulge. (as well as Korea) It is nice to finally get some recognition.
So disappointes to not see the Canadian liberation of the Netherlands on this list. My grandfather was a part of that campaign, and the Netherlands still celebrates Canada for that. That was a huge deal. He and many surviving CAF members and family members got all expense paid trips there in the early 90s for one of the anniversaries even. I remember my grandfather going on that trip quite clearly and watching the celebration/parades broadcasted on Canadian TV.
Don't be sorry my friend. Its up to us to say: Thank you for what you have done! (It's not up to you to ask for a thank you!) Many blessings from a (many) 🇩🇰.
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was one of the first major contributions by Canada, at the beginning of the war. The BCATP provided training for all the aircrew positions as well as the aviation support trades, toward the success of the air war. Many air bases were quickly constructed across the country in 1939 - 1940 to provide the necessary facilities needed to house the participants. These individuals arrived from not only from the commonwealth, but nations such as Norway, Poland, and even volunteers from the USA before December 1941. Churchill referred to Canada as "the Aerodrome of Democracy".
Agreed. It should be number one on this list. Also, the liberation of The Netherlands and the supply of food to its starving population. Not to forget that Canada provided shelter to the Dutch Royal family, something that has never been forgotten by The Netherlands.
Thanks for this! A lot of my family fought in both wars, including leading the efforts in liberating the Netherlands, but two generations removed I haven’t learned much other than a few family stories. It’s great to hear the large scale impact the country had.
As a 55 year old Canadian, my generation was not taught about what Canada did in WW I or WW2. It was not until I joined the CAF, 1Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, that I began to learn how important Canada's contribution to both World Wars, and the Korean War was. Thanks for this video.
as a 72 year old I was educated in a far more concentrated affect. I knew much more than my children do and suspect that in many provinces no history is taught prior to the 50's . I also came from an RCAF family and lost an uncle in the Netherlands so maybe that is why we spoke of at home.
i was getting kicked out of class and suspended because i challenged the British social studies teacher on WW1 and WW2 actions of Canada. I was lucky that my father stuck up for me and set em straight that the boy was 100% right. got a week off school for the poor choice of words i used. i flunked the class but dad over saw my work and knew the teacher had it out for me.
That is odd. I'm only slightly younger and we definitely did learn about both world wars in grade 10 history class. It was all 20th century history and 90% of it was about the two wars from the Schlieffen plan all the way to Market Garden.
@@theguyfromsaturn we learned about Dieppe and that's about to it. Even in high school we didn't take too much about Canada's involvement in both World wars or Korea for that matter. I learned about that when I joined the Forces.
Served alongside Canadians in Cyprus and Germany. Fantastic people, marvellous sense of humour and adventure. Their contribution to WW2 was immense, but what they did in WW1 was probably more important to them as a nation, it pretty much made moder Canada 🇨🇦. As an aside, it might be worth looking into the contribution of some of the other, lesser known allied forces, such as Brazil, who fought in the Italian campaign, and Mexico, who I believe, had Air Force Units in the Pacific theatre.
Canada pre-ww1:*has like no military* Canada after ww1:*comes out with the 3rd strongest army and 4th strongest navy* (I may have had something wrong in there if so correct me)
Simon, thanks so much for covering this important history. I am a proud Canadian and Newfoundlander, ex military engineer (reserve). It is so important to know what these brave soldiers have done for us. My son did a research project on the Argentia Navel base. It was still active up until recent history. The story of that place is fascinating. Happy to share that with you. Cheers
I'm a veteran... a Cold War veteran... of the RCN. I had the honour to serve alongside many veterans of the Battle of the Atlantic. They were the iron men with hearts of oak that we know of from the history of the Commonwealth going back centuries. The finest kind, every one! My Uncle also served in the UK from 1940 - 45... in a support role, another Uncle was captured at Hong on 25 December, 1941 and was a POW until 1945. Our next door neighbour was an infantry soldier who landed in Normandy on D plus 1 and helped to liberate Holland, our neighbour across the street was in the RCAF as an aerial gunner... there are more that I could mention who served in War 2. I also have many relatives who served Canada in War 1... artillery and infantry... from 1915 to 1918... grandfather and uncles x 5. Canada serves when needed. Oh... and my father and 2 of his cousins in Korea. Followed by my own - and 1 brothers - service during the Cold War. Nice to see Simon talking about our boys, however briefly.
I was talking to a British man and told him that up to his death my government told my grandfather he was not a part of WWII as a merchant marine at 14 years old. A tear fell as he said, "I'm British and that's not how we feel. Without boys like your grandfather there were no bullets, no bombs, no food, no guns, no war. Your grandfather and those who fought with him were the reason we still have a country, and we will be forever grateful." Love you and miss you Poppo. I hope you are finally at peace.
History Channel used to run a series that covered Canada's contributions. Season 1 "For King and Country" Season 2 "For Queen and Country". Season 1 covers both world wars, season 2 covers after Queen Elizabeth took the throne. I was not happy when it was taken off-air.
While on holiday in the UK in 2012, we took a trip to France to visit the battlefields of D-Day. Our ferry went from Newhaven to Dieppe and back, so I made a point to visit the Dieppe cemetery. Respect to our cousins. 🇦🇺 (I visited Canada about 9 months later and spent a brilliant 6 weeks there)
As a Canadian I would add the liberation of the Netherlands and The Battle of Hong Kong to the list. As for the POW camps, there is one a few minutes away from me. Many POWs didn't bother returning home after the war and instead opted to stay in Canada
There was an enormous prison camp for German soldiers in Price Edward County in southern Ontario. It’s closed now, but many of the soldiers stayed at the end of the war, and became Canadian citizens. The camp became a centre for severely mentally handicapped people. My friend’s wife worked there and she took a friend and I for a tour. It was still quite evident that it had held POW’s all those years ago.
I've interviewed a few of these old soldiers in BC. The running theme was that they had no idea that a place could be so free... an interesting sentiment for people who were POWs.
@@justincronkright5025 It was called Prince Edward Heights. Haven’t been out that way in over 20 years. It was a German POW camp in WW2, and was a home for severely affected adults with birth defects. My friend, who worked there at the time, has unfortunately passed away, so I don’t know if the building is even there. Y relatives in the area are all gone as well. It was somewhere near Milford/Cherry Valley in the County. My uncle had a farm just west of Cherry Valley, and it was somewhere around that area. Sorry my memory is so bad … I’m getting old, lol.
@@justincronkright5025 I just did a search. It’s listed as Picton Heights in the title but called Prince Edward Heights in the video. Didn’t watch it all, but it’s there. Check it out …
As a Canadian, who has 1 grandfather who, with my Grandmother and aunts and uncle, ran the Brandon Woolen mill (blankets and uniforms for Cdn and British troupes), and my other Grandfather who made aircraft engines, appreciate this piece of relatively overshadowed contributions to WWII. Thank you for bringing this back into the light of memory.
My dad was in Corvettes, uncle John was in Bomber Command. When i was a kid I was always more at ease around adults so I spent a lot of time around my dad and his buddies, all of them were WW2 veterans. They never talked about the war, fishing was a favourite subject. They had a familiar sense of humour, a manliness about them as well as love of common sense and a great respect for human dignity.
In Denmark🇩🇰 too, we will never forget how the 🇨🇦fought for us and the rest of Europe. And yes, they have not received enough credit for their great effort in WW2!
My old Regiment, The Lincoln & Welland has a battle honour "Bergen Op Zoom". It is an annual remembrance for the Regiment and the Regiment's connection with the people of Holland is always at the forefront.
Yeah, I hate when my fellow countrymen tout America's part but forget that there were many nations involved and it took the effort of all of them to win. I hate to think of how it would have turned out if we had stayed neutral, we were the Allied's storehouses and factories.
Thank you Simon for mentioning some of the many contributions made by Canada and Canadians to the efforts of the Allies in WWII. In addition to what you've mentioned, another major development were the standardized "Canadian Military Pattern" trucks and Artillery tractors - over 800,000 of which were built by auto workers in Ontario and Quebec. We also built, and exported huge numbers of weapons of all types, including the Browning automatic pistol, Lee-Enfield (Long Branch Arsenal) rifle, Bren guns, Sten guns and artillery for both armies and ships. The contributions of NSERC, the National Science and Engineering Research Council, began from almost the opening days of WWII. with major contributions to the science of "degaussing" ships. as well as "reverse engineering" the German magnetic mine. There were many many projects, one even to make preparations to built an alternate "bomb factory" hidden far up in the granite of the "Canadian Shield" - a site not marked on any map and now forgotten. The huge amount of Uranium ore that was mined in northern Saskatchewan and partly refined is another of the "things that never happened" - except they did. During my first years of studying Engineering, one of my professors had been part of the aborted "Project Habbakuk" - an aircraft carrier made from ice and "Pyecrete" - he wrote the story of that and many other projects in a book published around 1985. Of more importance, both at the time and later, was the work on the Proximity Fuse for anti-aircraft artillery shells. Much of the work done for that is STILL under a secrecy order, but contrary to many vides we see, it was not solely an American project, and scientific work on that an other secret work took place at NSERC facilities across the country. My own family sent seven young men off to the RCAF and the Army; only one of each group came back - a very high price. Although I have great respect for the enormous efforts made by the United States. and by Britain, "the Allies" included many other countries with Canada playing a large part. This effort is unknown to most Americans, and not appreciated even in the UK - something that I found rather surprising. That the casualty rate for the Juno Beach landings was 80% - higher than at any other Allied landing, seems to be a great surprise. The courage shown by those young men - the living and the dead - is not a "zero-sum game" - the contributions of the Armed Forces of many of the Allies is mostly ignored. I have gathered many period documents and first-hand accounts of the post-Normandy actions of Canadian forces and others; after reading first-hand accounts of (for example) the Battle of the Scheldt, that terrible and terrifying makes the opening moments of the film "Saving Private Ryan" - which happened in one place on one day - all the more dreadful when we consider that the Battle of the Scheldt alone was more intense than Spielberg's "re-creation" for well over a month. Likewise, the actions at Caen and the Falaise Pocket brought horrors that are almost impossible to comprehend to the soldiers of many of the Allied armies for days or weeks on end. The sacrifices of so many, including but hardly limited to any one country, are almost beyond belief. What Canada did, and what Canada built itself into by the end of WWII is truly amazing. All the more so, perhaps, in light of certain events that have started to become known in June 2024. None of us, the children or grandchildren of those who served, should remain ignorant of these things. Not to "glorify" wartime events, but to remind ourselves that this country, at least, has done and can do better - and hopefully without a world war making it a necessity. So thanks for this look into some of Canada's contributions. This country does have a national history and a true identity, no matter what politicians may say.
Also not to mention that Canadian combatants were volunteers- they may have been drafted but ALL involved in combat volunteered for it! Also Canada, with a population of ~11,000,000 provided ~1,100,000 people for its military and still kept up and increased its vital war production. This is not well known as Canadian propaganda was controlled by the British and Canadians do not need to brag but just want to get the job done!
This Canadian's mother's future brother in law was machine gunned in Sicily and saved by locals going out after dark to steal boots from the dead. Her brother was a Canadian Army engineer in Italy at Ortona and possibly Monte Cassino. Later he was in the thick of the Battle of the Scheldt and the liberation of Holland. She had an uncle who was a pilot who refused to discuss the the war. My mother and one of her sisters were in uniform at a training base in Calgary to free up 2 more men to go overseas. My father was in from 1939 and was an armor instructor in England and on cleanup duty of the beach at Normandy for some time after VE Day. Very few Canadian families were not touched by WW2.
Nice to hear about contributions from other parts of the British Empire. Canada. Australia and New Zealand didn't have much manpower, but regularly punched above their weight and did an awful lot despite that.
@DJ: Canada’s population in 1939 was 11 million. Ten percent ( 1.1 million people) served during the war. About 67% of that number volunteered. Most of Canada’s contributions was in the European theatre, however Canadians did assist the Americans in liberating the two islands in The Aleutian Islands. Stay safe, stay sane, stay strong Ukraine 🇺🇦
As a Dane I would put the Canadian paratroopers saving Denmark from Russian occupation on the list. Canadian paratroopers blocked the russians from access to Denmark and "only" the island of Bornholm in the Baltic sea was bombed and occupied by the russians. The occupation of the island lasted for a year. This is the same island where the Nord Stream pipe lines were bombed last year.
@@misledprops I was standing on Juno and began to cry, it laid so heavy on my soul. I thought about my Grandfather who carried a letter from the Chaplin who laid his son's body to rest in his wallet until the day he died. We still have that letter
The Haida sat on the walkway along the shore of Lake Ontario for years. My kids and I climbed through the “guts” of the ship many times. No charge to go aboard back then. The Haida was suffering degradation and was moved elsewhere after I’d left the city. Don’t know where she is now, but my family enjoyed her and admired her role in WW11. 🇨🇦🖖🏻🇨🇦
I used to do training weekends on the Haida as a Sea Cadet in high school... We got to sleep in hammocks just like the old sailors would but those mannequins would scare the 💩 out of us in the middle of the night during duty watch!
@@kally0208 I did a week on the Haida as a cadet when I was a kid. It was nearly winter, half the corps got hypothermia, the food was terrible, and it was some of the most fun I have ever had. What a memory.
Thank you, great video. As a Canadian whose grandfather fought in World War II I'm always surprised how Canada's contribution in both Wars is overlooked, even here in Canada.
If you think that the Canadians at Dieppe and The Scheldt got a raw deal from Montgomery and the politicians, you must research the Battle of Hong King. The Royal Rifles and the Winnipeg Grenadiers, as well as the other Commonwealth forces already in Hong Kong, were ordered to fight a hopeless battle. The Battle of Hong Kong started on Dec 7, 1941 (yes, the same day as the attack on Pearl Harbor) and ended with the surrender of all defenders on Christmas day. My grandfather and 11 of his cousins went into Japanese POW camps and only 4 of his cousins made it home. The Canadian and English governments swept the whole thing under the rug for decades. It's only been recently acknowledged by the the governments of Canada, England and Japan. The Japanese government made a formal apology to the Canadians for the severe mistreatment, torture and murders committed by the Japanese running the POW camps. Research the Battle of Hong Kong.
When I was in scouts one of our leaders father came to talk around remembrance day. He was in Hong Kong and lost a finger and was captured. He joked about the finger but nearly broke down thinking about his time as a POW. That has stuck with me all these years.
@@mweiss0033 I don't recall as I was quite young. But it was in Saskatoon and the North Saskatchewan regiment was part of the Canadian rifles. And people move around.
My father was captured at Dieppe. Born in Manchester, UK during WWI to an English mother and an American father serving in the British army, my father was raised mostly in the U.S. When Germany invaded Poland he enlisted in the U.S. Army. But after the fall of France in 1940 he grew frustrated with U.S. inaction so he bolted for Canada, which was in the war. He enlisted at Windsor, Ont. the Essex Scottish, which was shipped to England. The first two years were spent guarding Southern England from Nazi invasion and undergoing intensive training. My father fell in love with an English woman and they were married in Sept. 1941. By 1942 the Canadian 2nd Division was getting restless, it had seen no action. So they were chosen for the Dieppe Raid, which was mounted on Aug. 19. As Simon noted, it was a complete fiasco. My dad was a Sgt. in a regiment tasked with the frontal assault on the port and town of Dieppe. But the Germans were waiting for them and cut them down on the beach. More than 900 Canadians died on the beach. The Essex Scottish was decimated and never recovered. My dad was captured and spent the rest of the war in POW camps. His wife in England (not my mother) gave birth to their child, a daughter, while he was a POW. (She turned 80 a few days ago.) Being a POW in Germany and the long march at the end of the war in unbearable winter conditions was a brutal experience, but he survived. He would never talk about this war experiences to me when I was a boy. He died in March 1973 a few days before I turned 16. BTW, a number of documents that were only recently declassified reveal that the Dieppe Raid was actually a cover operation whereby commandos under Ian Fleming (who after the war would create James Bond) were supposed to "pinch" intelligence Bletchley Park was desperately seeking to break the code of the four-rotor German Enigma in order to stop the carnage Nazi U-Boats were inflicting on convoys in the North Atlantic. A Canadian historian and writer, David O'Keefe has researched and written about this extensively.
So grateful to Canada, USA, UK and all Allied Forces for liberating our grandparents and parents from the Nazi occupation in the Netherlands and the Japanese Prisoner of War camps in Burma and Indonesia. If it wasn’t for your sacrifices made we would not have existed🙏 Hope many Canadians will visit beautiful, warm and tropical Sri Lanka, these days an island of peace 🇱🇰🕊️
For a brief time I had a former Netherlander mother-in-law who lived through the occupation with her mother. After the war they emigrated to Java and then went through that independence mess.
Thanks for acknowledging this. My father volunteered for WW2, becoming a despatch rider firstly in England during the first Blitz, then in France and Italy. He said that the Italian clay was brutal, making forward movement of machinery difficult. His childhood friend was is the First Canadian Army, liberating the Netherlands. Tidbit of information from my dad that isn't generally shared in history books: gonorrhea and syphilis almost brought down the Allied forces; sulpha drugs were used first, but penicillin wasn't available until about 1944.
#11: The more than 800,000 trucks of all sorts built in Canada during the war for the Allied armies. A great video Simon. Too few in Canada know of the country's contributions to the Allied victory in the Second World War. While not a major global power that the US and UK were, Canada definitely punched well above its weight in the war. None to shabby for a country of around 15 million people, of which about a million served in the army, navy or air force.
That's because Americans tend to forget other countries outside their own exist. Those who do know Canada fought in both world wars, honestly believe Canada was involved AFTER they themselves got there. They completely forget we were in Korea, let alone the 3rd largest presence there.
I'm one American who actually DID know about Canada's nuclear contributions. (My family has deep roots in The Westinghouse Electric Company, So I know a bit of electrical and nuclear history). ALSO, A Canadian built the first usable "Walkie Talkie" during WW2. This is NOT as well known as that other more famous piece of Canadian communications tech: The telephone. Personally I would like to thank yinz Canadians for North America's BEST sports: Hockey and Basketball!!🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
My second cousin Fl/Off. John Milton McLay served as a navigator in RCAF 432 Squadron. On their first combat operation in a brand new Halifax III bomber they were shot down over Vervier Belgium. Six of they eight crew members were killed including my cousin. May they rest in peace.
In Ottawa, within the Peace Tower sits the Memorial Chamber. The chamber displays eight Books of Remembrance, books listing fallen Canadians. The chamber floor is comprised of stone collected from European battlefields Canadians participated in; Vimy, Ypres, Somme and Verdun. 11AM each morning sees each book turned to a new page; so it is possible to ascertain which day to be present for the reveal of a lost relative. I witnessed this ceremony by happenstance. It was gripping.
Interested to see the mention of Canada contribution to the Manhattan project, a fact almost unknown to the vast majority of Canadians amongst others. The heavy water plant at Trail BC including the buildings was and may still be an abandoned and contaminated site, it certainly has been for decades, but very little mentioned or known about what happened there. But it was the ideal site for such a plant because of lots of available hydro power and the huge, ancient Trail smelter operation nearby. Not a concern at the time I'm sure, but the whole country around Trail had long been devastated environmentally by the smelter emissions, so the addition of one more source was barely noticed. But this whole area is a prime example of how mother nature, given enough time, and with the help of much more stringent emissions standards, can slowly restore and reclaim even the worse of human screw ups. The hills around have substantially recovered over the last few decades.
My mother's father served in England from late 1942 till 1946, I still have his last pay stubs from his aircraft mechanics job in Edmonton, Alberta, dated December 1941. He was a aluminum welder and mechanic by trade before the war.
My grandfather ran a weapons manufacturing plant during ww2. The factory was responsible for manufacturing most of the weapons for Canada and England during ww2.
Yep!!! My grandfather was a US Army combat veteran of WWII. He always admired the absolute GUTS of the Canadians. Of course the nation that gave the world ice hockey is a nation that's not f***ing around! 🇨🇦👍😁👍🇨🇦
Canada was also instrumental to the negotiations and back-channel diplomacy that lead to America's contributions to the war before it formally entered with things like Lend-Lease. WLM King (you forgot the Lyon in the video, which is important because his first three names were his grandfather's, who led an unsuccessful rebellion and loomed large in the family lore, and was a directed inspiration for King entering politics) personally negotiated with Roosevelt, and had Roosevelt not apocryphally remembered being at college with King (they weren't there at the same time) he might not have been so warm with the stand-offish King and committed so fully to the project.
As a Canadian this makes me happy to see, as a Canadian Soldier, this makes me extatic. We're almost never depicted in pop culture despite this, if Hollywood would open its eyes, it could easily find material for a band of brother's type series and a whole era of movies. My units story from WW2 does have an excellent book, and I'd love to see it be made into something like Band of Brother's but it's just not gonna happen. No one in Hollywood wants to make a movie about cancuks they want Americans
Canadian pilots, especially those of Trans-Canada Airways (forerunner to Air Canada) were instrumental in the development of the transatlantic ferry service that flew medium and heavy bombers across the Atlantic to Britain to save the time of dismantling them, sending the planes by ship and then having to re-assemble them in Britain. It also saved the risk of losing the planes to U-Boats and salt water damage (although the flights were also extremely hazardous). That experience contributed enormously to the post-war boom for intercontinental airline travel.
@@sandybarnes887 Gander airport was first established (to the best of my recollection) as the first refuelling stop for the Empire Flying Boats that pioneered transatlantic passenger routes just prior to WW2; Southhampton to NY
You might add "Camp X", a training area set up by Canadian soldier, business man and master spy, William Stephenson. Known by code name "Intrepid", he had become a senior representative of British intelligence and worked closely with the allies in their spy efforts. Located in Ontario, Camp X trained recruits brought in from the SOE, FBI, and OSS to be covert agents. They were then sent to operate in enemy and occupied territories. Camp X was also a major radio communications centre used, among other tasks, to coordinate its agents. Stephenson is credited with being a major influence of the fictional spy James Bond.
9:35 … Simon … 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion were dropped into Normandy the evening of June 5th to secure drop zones and key bridges and roads for the invasion.
Here in the Netherlands 🇳🇱, we remember the Canadians. Lots of people fought in and over the Netherlands, (Arnhem, the Scheldt), but the Canadians did most of the heavy lifting, and are considered the main liberators here.
It was quite the relief, at the time, and people were very happy and grateful. They were literally starving at the time, so the Canadians were very, very welcome.
Thanks again for that.
I dated a Dutch man whose parents, as teens, sabotaged bridges, roads, anything German they could find. At night. No lights. Dead if caught. Because of Canada’s liberation of the Netherlands, his parents and their siblings emigrated to Canada. They are so appreciative, all these decades later, of our help. They’re very proud to be Canadians. It’s an honour to have known them.
My Grand-father landed at Dieppe, and then some how survived to go on to Belgium... and then was sent home to spawn my father. Whew !
Any time! Speaking of which, mind if we crash on your couch next week? We're coming in to uhhh, dissuade a Russian invasion maybe? 🤷🏻
🥃🍷🍸🍺🍷🥃🍺🍸
@@slcpunk2740 Sure, no worries. I have a big fridge.
In my city (in Canada) we have a large Carillon in our city centre park, donated by the Netherlands as a memorial and appreciation for the Canadian efforts there in WWII.
I'm glad we're friends and I should really visit :)
Thank you for creating a video on this topic. I was an American tourist from Seattle on holiday near 11 November 1999 to Vancouver Island British Columbia. Imagine my surprise when I found a painting on one of the ferries about the Flower Class Corvette HMCS ALBERNI. The brass plaque on the frame mentioned the loss of 59 of her crew in 1944 by the German UBoot U480. But it was the sacredness of Remembrance Day that Canadians felt that moved me so much that I returned to Seattle, quit my job, immigrated to British Columbia and created the HMCS ALBERNI Museum and Memorial (HAMM) and The Alberni Project Society. Imagine an American, born and raised in the shadow of Yellowstone, growing up truly believing that my father and John Wayne single-handedly won the Second World War now making sure that the history of the Canadian Forces be preserved for future generations.
That's awesome! Victoria girl here! :)
Thanks for that !
Lies, no American says on holiday.
WOW, what can I say but a great big Thank You.
Montreal Girl here . . .🇨🇦
Wow! Such an amazing history and contribution.
Thank you, from Montreal for keeping lives, spirits and memories, Alive.
Please let me know when the movie, and or book, is coming out :)
I'll be there opening night.
Cheers from Canada
Merci beaucoup pour tous
Here in the Netherlands, we certainly do *not* forget Canada. We owe our freedom to Canada.
Thank you.
We never forget you either, especially in the Spring when the beautiful Tulips are in bloom to help serve as a reminder.
Cheers. 🇨🇦
When my first wife and I were tourists in the Netherlands in 1976, the people in Amsterdam treated us like we kicked out the Nazis the day before. Any male. female, any age, and coming from a Dutch-Canadian farming community we felt right at home and appreciated. Thank you for the rememberance.
My grandfather was a part of that! He loved being able to go back years later too
The Canadian Tulip Festival is the direct result of Princess Margriet being born at the Ottawa Civic Hospital. The Dutch Royal Family gifted 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa 1945 and to this day 20,000 tulip bulbs are gifted to Canada each year by the Netherlands.
We have Dutch ties in toronto (Brampton) tulips from the Dutch and nice gardens they make with them
American perspective: Canadian contributions in WWI and WWII are immeasurable. They answered the call in 1914 and fought the end in 1918. In WWII Canada joined England in 1939 and fought in all theatres of the European War to include D-Day where they went ashore on Juno Beach. In the air, on the land, and on the water Canada was instrumental in the victories of both world wars. I had the honor of serving with Canadian troops. Our great friend and neighbor to the north!
Thank you for the kind words brother.
Thank you
Canadians also fought in China
Countless other conflicts and peacekeeping missions... Thanks brother kind words appreciated ❤🇨🇦💪
@@willcruickshankw5527: Indeed they did, but only directly in Hong Kong in December 1941, when the Imperial Japanese Army attacked, invaded & occupied the British Empire’s Crown Colony there!
Some, very few individuals however (Volunteers), Canadians (Literally, only a handful) did fight & serve in mainland China, such as Dr. Norman Bethune, who was a volunteer medical officer (Surgeon) attached to Mao Tse Tung’s Communist Army, who were then fighting both Chiang Kai Shek’s Nationalist’s (Koumintang’s) Forces as well as the invading Japanese Imperial Army in conflicts that lasted altogether between 1931 to 1949 there!!
Actually, more Canadian 🍁volunteers in those days wanting to fight Fascism, Nazism or Japanese Imperialism, were more motivated to go to Spain & fight in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) for the Republicans-side, rather than in China & fight for their ideals there, and likely as not, voluntarily join the International Brigades in one of their MacKenzie-Papineau battalions of the Lincoln-Washington Brigade consisting then of mainly American & Canadian volunteers!!
Thank you from a Canadian
Co-signed
Ditto 👍👍👍🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
Thank you for the recognition. 🇨🇦
Canada doesn't have to brag about how great it is, it's obvious by how the world views and treats Canada.
though it is nice to be recognized for our accomplishments every once in a while.
I used to be very nationalistic in my youth, however I've since changed, as Canada has it's own set of problems. If you allow yourself to be blinded by nationalism you'll never fix the problems with your country, and will never get better. I love Canada but we are a flawed place and should never forget it.
Agreed.
I'm a proud Canadian. 🇨🇦
@@claytonberg721 that's true for every country on the planet
@@phatphat7089 That's the point. Nationalism is for simple people who don't think.
@@claytonberg721 yup
Thank you! I am very proud of my country and it’s great to hear how much we were a part of the allies. 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
Great video, very appreciated by this Canadian Armed Forces Veteran.
As an American veteran, I am well aware of the contributions by Canadian troops, particularly on the drive up the east coast of Italy and in Normandy, Where the 3rd ID faced hard fighting and prevailed. Canadian troops in WW2 were elite units, imo.
🫡
❤
@@Heathcoatman Thank you.
Royal Canadian Regiment Cold War I Veteran here
👍👏👏👏👊
One small accomplishment ( Operation Eclipse 1945) that always go unnoticed is the saving of Denmark from being occupied by Soviet forces in April 1945. A small group of lightly armed Canadian paratroopers occupied the city of Wismar in northern Germany, a town that was to be in the Soviet sphere of control. They set up roadblocks to stop the Russian T 34 tanks. It was basically to delay the Soviets a couple of days, so Allied forces could occupy Denmark.
Stay safe, stay sane, stay strong Ukraine 🇺🇦
The Canadians raced to the town, set up camp, and told the Soviets (paraphrasing here), "It would be a shame if we had to use this artillery division just over that hill that we totally have supporting us."
As a Dane I wouldn´t call it a small accomplishment. Thank you Canada! Slava Ukraini!
800 Canadian paratroopers, and 21 British tanks had a Mexican stand off with and entire guards tank army (Approx 120,000 men 500ish tanks). The Canadians didn't blink. Even shot a few Russians who tried to break into the town at night. Ice in their veins.
@@McTeerZor Quite possibly it was the fighting reputation of the Canadians and the Brits that stopped the Russians from advancing any further.
@@stevestruthers6180 Brits? Dude they said British tanks we USED British tanks in WW2 he never said British run British tanks dude. So it was just us Cunucks
This French Canadian lady stands in solidarity and appreciation. Thank You.
Thank you for the acknowledgement and respect for my country's contributions ! ( A grateful Canadian )
Well done, Canada!
Could I suggest another one, this time on Australia? Such things as…
1. The Kokoda Trek where we fought a withdrawal across New Guinea until backed on to Port Moresby before they were halted and pushed all the way back over the Owen Stanley Ranges. Made more admirable when you consider this was done by the “Choco’s”, reservists described as “Chocolate Soldiers” because they would melt in the heat of battle.
2. Milne Bay - The first land defeat inflicted on the Japanese Army, also in New Guinea.
3. Our part in the defence of Tobruk…the famous Rats of Tobruk.
4. Or the Goebels named “Scrap Iron Flotilla” that ran supplies and fresh troops into Tobruk and taking the wounded out.
5. Z-Force - the attack on Singapore by frogmen.
Or what happened to them and others on the Burma Railway…
Just to get you started.
Ya brother hear ya many dont know that you Aussie and Zealanders have fought all over the world and one hell of a fighting force much love from Canada
We always stick up for our Australian Brothers and never forget how, like us, we were cannon fodder for the British until we weren't.
From Canada: Not to forget the Australian Coast Watchers. A huge contribution to the defeat of Japan.
TY from a Canadian. A mini brag is OK by me once in a blue moon. You are among the very few, who recall openly , that Canadian troops got the deepest on D-Day. Heard they had to pull back for fear of being flanked, an cut off.
Really glad you put this out .
My grandfather was a radio man in ww2 and was there D-Day , made it home from war and had a heart attack.
EdwardTaylor Murray RIP🇨🇦
Thank you Simon for highlighting my country 🇨🇦 my grandfather was stationed in England during ww2
Princess Margriet of The Netherlands was born in Ottawa Civic Hospital, as the Dutch Royal Family had gone into exile in Canada in 1940. Also, The Netherlands continues to send 20,000 tulips to Ottawa every year.
The room of the hospital where she was born was temporarily made Dutch territory, so that the princess would be born on Dutch soil.
20,000 tulips? That's like 6 billion dollars isn't it?
@@Grimlock1979 Wow, that's so cool.
@@RubyDoobieScoo they pay wholesale, not retail 🤣
@@Grimlock1979 I believe it was temporarily stateLESS.
A video about Camp X would be very informative. It contributed a lot to the clandestine and special operations of WW2
See X Company tv show, nice dramatic show
@@donaldcake1 - ex members of Camp X went on to build the USA now CIA
@@donaldcake1 Is it on the real Camp X?
@@anothernamlesscommenter352no, it was dismantled after the war. There is nothing where it used to be.
there is a commerative plack on display and as a kid in 1949 I was lucky to have been on the camp.
@@stevenweaver3386
As an American, I’m glad to hear about nations other than America who sacrificed so much. There are other nations and cultures who contributed so much in WWI and WWII that aren’t discussed about as much. From Canadians and Aussies to Gurkhas to French, and yes Soviet’s. They all gave more than we can comprehend or appreciate and imagine in todays modern warfare.
Another amazing video Simon, Ty.
I served 12 years in the military here in Canada ( Ret.Sgt ) I served 3 years in the Reserves with a a Highland regiment on the East Coast (2NSH) they had battle honors from Vimy Ridge and Dieppe, and I served the remainder of my career with 2RCR .
I can assure you what we lack in quantity we make up for in quality of soldiers . 🇨🇦
My grandfather took part in the Scheldt campaign, it was a very brutal affair, comparable to Passchendaele in The Great War. In the final days of the campaign his cousin’s Sterling bomber was shot down only a few miles north of where my grandfather was on the ground. No one survived the crash. The whole crew is buried together in a Dutch town’s community cemetery laying among the people they died to help liberate. I hope to visit their graves one day.
One Canadian contribution to the World War 2 effort was artillery spotter plane pilots. These were drawn from many sources, and one was a Candian artillery lieutenant from Vancouver BC who was injured storming Juno, and could have been sent home because of his injuries were fairly severe, but wanted to fight. He got recruited for the spotter pilot job, graduated from Air Observation Pilot Course 40 with eleven other Canadian artillery officers and flew Taylorcraft Auster Mark V aircraft for 666 (AOP) Squadron, RCAF as a Royal Canadian Artillery officer in support of 1st Army Group Royal Canadian Artillery. Flying the Auster, which had no armour, or weapons, but flew over enemy lines to help guide artillery strikes. He became quite the aviator! At one point, he slalomed his Taylorcraft Auster through a series of telelgraph polls! Although he was never actually a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, he was once labelled the "craziest pilot in the Canadian Air Force".
His name? James Doohan, but most of the planet knows him as Montgomery Scott, or Scotty, the head engineer of the USS Enterprise during the command of Captain Kirk.
As a Canadian I really appreciate this video, Simon 🙂 thank you for making it!
I once heard a funny clip that was edited and never heard from a CBC radio broadcast interviewing a soldier in Europe as the war raged . The journalist said that Canadian soldiers have a reputation for cursing excessively . Why is that ? The soldier replied "Because we've been here the F&^%n longest !"
so true!!
😂
Thank you SO much, Simon!! When I went to Western Europe several years ago, I was overwhelmed by how much the people remembered our Canadian soldiers.
We are VASTLY underrepresented in war movies and books.
Thanks for finally showing Canada. My father fought in the war and was in both D-day and the Battle of the Bulge. (as well as Korea) It is nice to finally get some recognition.
So disappointes to not see the Canadian liberation of the Netherlands on this list. My grandfather was a part of that campaign, and the Netherlands still celebrates Canada for that. That was a huge deal. He and many surviving CAF members and family members got all expense paid trips there in the early 90s for one of the anniversaries even. I remember my grandfather going on that trip quite clearly and watching the celebration/parades broadcasted on Canadian TV.
The Scheldt is related to that. You are complaining about an omission that does not exist.
As Canadians we are so sorry you had to make a video on how accomplished we are.
Yup, eh
Don't be sorry my friend. Its up to us to say: Thank you for what you have done! (It's not up to you to ask for a thank you!)
Many blessings from a (many) 🇩🇰.
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was one of the first major contributions by Canada, at the beginning of the war. The BCATP provided training for all the aircrew positions as well as the aviation support trades, toward the success of the air war. Many air bases were quickly constructed across the country in 1939 - 1940 to provide the necessary facilities needed to house the participants. These individuals arrived from not only from the commonwealth, but nations such as Norway, Poland, and even volunteers from the USA before December 1941. Churchill referred to Canada as "the Aerodrome of Democracy".
Beautiful!
Agreed. It should be number one on this list. Also, the liberation of The Netherlands and the supply of food to its starving population. Not to forget that Canada provided shelter to the Dutch Royal family, something that has never been forgotten by The Netherlands.
Thanks for this! A lot of my family fought in both wars, including leading the efforts in liberating the Netherlands, but two generations removed I haven’t learned much other than a few family stories. It’s great to hear the large scale impact the country had.
I can’t wait till my Canadian son is old enough to show him this video. This is a great nation that I am now proud to call home
As a 55 year old Canadian, my generation was not taught about what Canada did in WW I or WW2. It was not until I joined the CAF, 1Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, that I began to learn how important Canada's contribution to both World Wars, and the Korean War was.
Thanks for this video.
as a 72 year old I was educated in a far more concentrated affect. I knew much more than my children do and suspect that in many provinces no history is taught prior to the 50's . I also came from an RCAF family and lost an uncle in the Netherlands so maybe that is why we spoke of at home.
They're too busy teaching them rainbow people and apps
i was getting kicked out of class and suspended because i challenged the British social studies teacher on WW1 and WW2 actions of Canada. I was lucky that my father stuck up for me and set em straight that the boy was 100% right. got a week off school for the poor choice of words i used. i flunked the class but dad over saw my work and knew the teacher had it out for me.
That is odd. I'm only slightly younger and we definitely did learn about both world wars in grade 10 history class. It was all 20th century history and 90% of it was about the two wars from the Schlieffen plan all the way to Market Garden.
@@theguyfromsaturn we learned about Dieppe and that's about to it. Even in high school we didn't take too much about Canada's involvement in both World wars or Korea for that matter. I learned about that when I joined the Forces.
Served alongside Canadians in Cyprus and Germany. Fantastic people, marvellous sense of humour and adventure. Their contribution to WW2 was immense, but what they did in WW1 was probably more important to them as a nation, it pretty much made moder Canada 🇨🇦.
As an aside, it might be worth looking into the contribution of some of the other, lesser known allied forces, such as Brazil, who fought in the Italian campaign, and Mexico, who I believe, had Air Force Units in the Pacific theatre.
Canada pre-ww1:*has like no military* Canada after ww1:*comes out with the 3rd strongest army and 4th strongest navy* (I may have had something wrong in there if so correct me)
"They went up Vimy Ridge as Albertans, Nova Scotians, Manitobans.
They came down as Canadians."
Simon, thanks so much for covering this important history. I am a proud Canadian and Newfoundlander, ex military engineer (reserve). It is so important to know what these brave soldiers have done for us. My son did a research project on the Argentia Navel base. It was still active up until recent history. The story of that place is fascinating. Happy to share that with you. Cheers
I'm a veteran... a Cold War veteran... of the RCN. I had the honour to serve alongside many veterans of the Battle of the Atlantic. They were the iron men with hearts of oak that we know of from the history of the Commonwealth going back centuries. The finest kind, every one!
My Uncle also served in the UK from 1940 - 45... in a support role, another Uncle was captured at Hong on 25 December, 1941 and was a POW until 1945. Our next door neighbour was an infantry soldier who landed in Normandy on D plus 1 and helped to liberate Holland, our neighbour across the street was in the RCAF as an aerial gunner... there are more that I could mention who served in War 2.
I also have many relatives who served Canada in War 1... artillery and infantry... from 1915 to 1918... grandfather and uncles x 5. Canada serves when needed. Oh... and my father and 2 of his cousins in Korea.
Followed by my own - and 1 brothers - service during the Cold War. Nice to see Simon talking about our boys, however briefly.
I was talking to a British man and told him that up to his death my government told my grandfather he was not a part of WWII as a merchant marine at 14 years old.
A tear fell as he said, "I'm British and that's not how we feel. Without boys like your grandfather there were no bullets, no bombs, no food, no guns, no war. Your grandfather and those who fought with him were the reason we still have a country, and we will be forever grateful."
Love you and miss you Poppo. I hope you are finally at peace.
Big thank you to Simon and the team for giving the True North Strong and Free some much deserved but never expected praise.
The Canadian contributions to the world have long gone unrecognized. Hope this video starts a trend.
Many of us have been working on fixing this for quite some time.
History Channel used to run a series that covered Canada's contributions. Season 1 "For King and Country" Season 2 "For Queen and Country".
Season 1 covers both world wars, season 2 covers after Queen Elizabeth took the throne.
I was not happy when it was taken off-air.
@@jaquigreenlees Lots of Canadian military history on my channel!
Where would the world be without Zambonis!?
@@michaeldowson6988 Why? Zamboni's have nothing to do with Canadian contributions to World War II.
While on holiday in the UK in 2012, we took a trip to France to visit the battlefields of D-Day.
Our ferry went from Newhaven to Dieppe and back, so I made a point to visit the Dieppe cemetery. Respect to our cousins. 🇦🇺
(I visited Canada about 9 months later and spent a brilliant 6 weeks there)
As a Canadian I would add the liberation of the Netherlands and The Battle of Hong Kong to the list. As for the POW camps, there is one a few minutes away from me. Many POWs didn't bother returning home after the war and instead opted to stay in Canada
There was an enormous prison camp for German soldiers in Price Edward County in southern Ontario. It’s closed now, but many of the soldiers stayed at the end of the war, and became Canadian citizens. The camp became a centre for severely mentally handicapped people. My friend’s wife worked there and she took a friend and I for a tour. It was still quite evident that it had held POW’s all those years ago.
I've interviewed a few of these old soldiers in BC. The running theme was that they had no idea that a place could be so free... an interesting sentiment for people who were POWs.
@@Momcat_maggiefelinefan I live near & am from Belleville, had never heard of any PoW camp in the county. Thanks for sharing I'll take a look into it.
@@justincronkright5025 It was called Prince Edward Heights. Haven’t been out that way in over 20 years. It was a German POW camp in WW2, and was a home for severely affected adults with birth defects. My friend, who worked there at the time, has unfortunately passed away, so I don’t know if the building is even there. Y relatives in the area are all gone as well. It was somewhere near Milford/Cherry Valley in the County. My uncle had a farm just west of Cherry Valley, and it was somewhere around that area. Sorry my memory is so bad … I’m getting old, lol.
@@justincronkright5025 I just did a search. It’s listed as Picton Heights in the title but called Prince Edward Heights in the video. Didn’t watch it all, but it’s there. Check it out …
As a Canadian, who has 1 grandfather who, with my Grandmother and aunts and uncle, ran the Brandon Woolen mill (blankets and uniforms for Cdn and British troupes), and my other Grandfather who made aircraft engines, appreciate this piece of relatively overshadowed contributions to WWII. Thank you for bringing this back into the light of memory.
Cheers from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.
Yes it’s nice for someone to acknowledge the fact that Canada was its own fighting force and not just lump us in with Britain
This was a very fascinating episode. Thank you.
Thank you for this video. I wish more young people in Canada new this. ❤🇨🇦
My dad was in Corvettes, uncle John was in Bomber Command. When i was a kid I was always more at ease around adults so I spent a lot of time around my dad and his buddies, all of them were WW2 veterans. They never talked about the war, fishing was a favourite subject. They had a familiar sense of humour, a manliness about them as well as love of common sense and a great respect for human dignity.
In Denmark🇩🇰 too, we will never forget how the 🇨🇦fought for us and the rest of Europe.
And yes, they have not received enough credit for their great effort in WW2!
As an FYI ... the longest sniper kill shot in history, is from a Canadian JTF2 soldier.
As an FYI, that's not where the comma goes.
@@slcpunk2740 Hahahahaha! 🇨🇦
And 3 of the current top 5
I had no idea.
Another thing to be proud of.
Thanks, something new that I never knew. 🇨🇦
I bet he said sorry, on impact.
My old Regiment, The Lincoln & Welland has a battle honour "Bergen Op Zoom". It is an annual remembrance for the Regiment and the Regiment's connection with the people of Holland is always at the forefront.
Thanks for reminding us that our victory in WWII was an allied victory and no one nation defeated the Axis alone.
Yeah, I hate when my fellow countrymen tout America's part but forget that there were many nations involved and it took the effort of all of them to win. I hate to think of how it would have turned out if we had stayed neutral, we were the Allied's storehouses and factories.
Funny thing the paperwork says France and allies... weird
@@headsetlucky13 that's Charles de Gaulle for you
@@slcpunk2740 yes he was the acting government almost in its entirety what of it
It's sad your education system is so star and stripe washed. Self criticism is healthy.
Thank you Simon for mentioning some of the many contributions made by Canada and Canadians to the efforts of the Allies in WWII. In addition to what you've mentioned, another major development were the standardized "Canadian Military Pattern" trucks and Artillery tractors - over 800,000 of which were built by auto workers in Ontario and Quebec. We also built, and exported huge numbers of weapons of all types, including the Browning automatic pistol, Lee-Enfield (Long Branch Arsenal) rifle, Bren guns, Sten guns and artillery for both armies and ships. The contributions of NSERC, the National Science and Engineering Research Council, began from almost the opening days of WWII. with major contributions to the science of "degaussing" ships. as well as "reverse engineering" the German magnetic mine. There were many many projects, one even to make preparations to built an alternate "bomb factory" hidden far up in the granite of the "Canadian Shield" - a site not marked on any map and now forgotten. The huge amount of Uranium ore that was mined in northern Saskatchewan and partly refined is another of the "things that never happened" - except they did. During my first years of studying Engineering, one of my professors had been part of the aborted "Project Habbakuk" - an aircraft carrier made from ice and "Pyecrete" - he wrote the story of that and many other projects in a book published around 1985. Of more importance, both at the time and later, was the work on the Proximity Fuse for anti-aircraft artillery shells. Much of the work done for that is STILL under a secrecy order, but contrary to many vides we see, it was not solely an American project, and scientific work on that an other secret work took place at NSERC facilities across the country. My own family sent seven young men off to the RCAF and the Army; only one of each group came back - a very high price.
Although I have great respect for the enormous efforts made by the United States. and by Britain, "the Allies" included many other countries with Canada playing a large part. This effort is unknown to most Americans, and not appreciated even in the UK - something that I found rather surprising. That the casualty rate for the Juno Beach landings was 80% - higher than at any other Allied landing, seems to be a great surprise. The courage shown by those young men - the living and the dead - is not a "zero-sum game" - the contributions of the Armed Forces of many of the Allies is mostly ignored. I have gathered many period documents and first-hand accounts of the post-Normandy actions of Canadian forces and others; after reading first-hand accounts of (for example) the Battle of the Scheldt, that terrible and terrifying makes the opening moments of the film "Saving Private Ryan" - which happened in one place on one day - all the more dreadful when we consider that the Battle of the Scheldt alone was more intense than Spielberg's "re-creation" for well over a month. Likewise, the actions at Caen and the Falaise Pocket brought horrors that are almost impossible to comprehend to the soldiers of many of the Allied armies for days or weeks on end. The sacrifices of so many, including but hardly limited to any one country, are almost beyond belief. What Canada did, and what Canada built itself into by the end of WWII is truly amazing. All the more so, perhaps, in light of certain events that have started to become known in June 2024. None of us, the children or grandchildren of those who served, should remain ignorant of these things. Not to "glorify" wartime events, but to remind ourselves that this country, at least, has done and can do better - and hopefully without a world war making it a necessity. So thanks for this look into some of Canada's contributions. This country does have a national history and a true identity, no matter what politicians may say.
Also not to mention that Canadian combatants were volunteers- they may have been drafted but ALL involved in combat volunteered for it!
Also Canada, with a population of ~11,000,000 provided ~1,100,000 people for its military and still kept up and increased its vital war production. This is not well known as Canadian propaganda was controlled by the British and Canadians do not need to brag but just want to get the job done!
Thank you very much for the fantastic video that should be required viewing for every citizen in the country
To our Canadian cousins. Thank you for your war efforts.
Thank you Simon & Top Tenz for doing this video. I salute you and drink to your health. 🍻
Can you please do one of these for New Zealand?
This Canadian's mother's future brother in law was machine gunned in Sicily and saved by locals going out after dark to steal boots from the dead. Her brother was a Canadian Army engineer in Italy at Ortona and possibly Monte Cassino. Later he was in the thick of the Battle of the Scheldt and the liberation of Holland. She had an uncle who was a pilot who refused to discuss the the war. My mother and one of her sisters were in uniform at a training base in Calgary to free up 2 more men to go overseas.
My father was in from 1939 and was an armor instructor in England and on cleanup duty of the beach at Normandy for some time after VE Day.
Very few Canadian families were not touched by WW2.
This Canadian thanks you for this video and even learned a couple of new things as well.
Nice to hear about contributions from other parts of the British Empire. Canada. Australia and New Zealand didn't have much manpower, but regularly punched above their weight and did an awful lot despite that.
@DJ: Canada’s population in 1939 was 11 million. Ten percent ( 1.1 million people) served during the war. About 67% of that number volunteered.
Most of Canada’s contributions was in the European theatre, however Canadians did assist the Americans in liberating the two islands in The Aleutian Islands.
Stay safe, stay sane, stay strong Ukraine 🇺🇦
As a Dane I would put the Canadian paratroopers saving Denmark from Russian occupation on the list. Canadian paratroopers blocked the russians from access to Denmark and "only" the island of Bornholm in the Baltic sea was bombed and occupied by the russians. The occupation of the island lasted for a year. This is the same island where the Nord Stream pipe lines were bombed last year.
My mother was very young when her older brother died on the beach of Normandy.... I was able to travel there and stand on that beach
Must have been a heavy moment. It’s surreal to see the view of the beach from the turrets (and Vice versa) in person.
@@misledprops I was standing on Juno and began to cry, it laid so heavy on my soul. I thought about my Grandfather who carried a letter from the Chaplin who laid his son's body to rest in his wallet until the day he died. We still have that letter
Thanks so much. Luv hearing you rave about my beautiful country and there people.
The Black Watch was part of the 5th Brigade. The brigade included also the Calgary Highlanders and le Regiment de Maisonneuve.
Fantastic video. Would love to see a video about the WWII service of HMCS Haida. The "fightingest" ship in the the Canadian Royal Navy.
The Haida sat on the walkway along the shore of Lake Ontario for years. My kids and I climbed through the “guts” of the ship many times. No charge to go aboard back then. The Haida was suffering degradation and was moved elsewhere after I’d left the city. Don’t know where she is now, but my family enjoyed her and admired her role in WW11. 🇨🇦🖖🏻🇨🇦
@@Momcat_maggiefelinefan Sheila Copps abused her government position to have it moved to hamilton. I too remember exploring the Haida as a kid.
@@C4L3D0N Thought it was Hamilton, but never looked for her as I’d moved 200k east. Thanks for the info.
I used to do training weekends on the Haida as a Sea Cadet in high school... We got to sleep in hammocks just like the old sailors would but those mannequins would scare the 💩 out of us in the middle of the night during duty watch!
@@kally0208 I did a week on the Haida as a cadet when I was a kid. It was nearly winter, half the corps got hypothermia, the food was terrible, and it was some of the most fun I have ever had. What a memory.
Thank you, great video. As a Canadian whose grandfather fought in World War II I'm always surprised how Canada's contribution in both Wars is overlooked, even here in Canada.
Great video thanks for doing this. I had six family members in the armed service during the war. One did not come home. He was killed at Dieppe.
If you think that the Canadians at Dieppe and The Scheldt got a raw deal from Montgomery and the politicians, you must research the Battle of Hong King. The Royal Rifles and the Winnipeg Grenadiers, as well as the other Commonwealth forces already in Hong Kong, were ordered to fight a hopeless battle. The Battle of Hong Kong started on Dec 7, 1941 (yes, the same day as the attack on Pearl Harbor) and ended with the surrender of all defenders on Christmas day. My grandfather and 11 of his cousins went into Japanese POW camps and only 4 of his cousins made it home. The Canadian and English governments swept the whole thing under the rug for decades. It's only been recently acknowledged by the the governments of Canada, England and Japan. The Japanese government made a formal apology to the Canadians for the severe mistreatment, torture and murders committed by the Japanese running the POW camps. Research the Battle of Hong Kong.
When I was in scouts one of our leaders father came to talk around remembrance day. He was in Hong Kong and lost a finger and was captured. He joked about the finger but nearly broke down thinking about his time as a POW. That has stuck with me all these years.
@@logangamble1890 W
Do you recall if he was in the Royal Rifles or the Winnipeg Grenadiers? My grandfather & cousins were members of the Royal Rifles.
@@mweiss0033 I don't recall as I was quite young. But it was in Saskatoon and the North Saskatchewan regiment was part of the Canadian rifles. And people move around.
Didn’t think I’d learn something new about my own country on #1, thank you Simon. They never talked about this in history class…
The Canadians did so much more that what is shown here.
What they did for Denmark will perhaps not even be in top 50, but it means a lot to us Danes!
Thank you Simon.
Well done ... very informative for those who have never been exposed to these facts.
My father was captured at Dieppe. Born in Manchester, UK during WWI to an English mother and an American father serving in the British army, my father was raised mostly in the U.S. When Germany invaded Poland he enlisted in the U.S. Army. But after the fall of France in 1940 he grew frustrated with U.S. inaction so he bolted for Canada, which was in the war. He enlisted at Windsor, Ont. the Essex Scottish, which was shipped to England. The first two years were spent guarding Southern England from Nazi invasion and undergoing intensive training. My father fell in love with an English woman and they were married in Sept. 1941. By 1942 the Canadian 2nd Division was getting restless, it had seen no action. So they were chosen for the Dieppe Raid, which was mounted on Aug. 19. As Simon noted, it was a complete fiasco. My dad was a Sgt. in a regiment tasked with the frontal assault on the port and town of Dieppe. But the Germans were waiting for them and cut them down on the beach. More than 900 Canadians died on the beach. The Essex Scottish was decimated and never recovered. My dad was captured and spent the rest of the war in POW camps. His wife in England (not my mother) gave birth to their child, a daughter, while he was a POW. (She turned 80 a few days ago.) Being a POW in Germany and the long march at the end of the war in unbearable winter conditions was a brutal experience, but he survived. He would never talk about this war experiences to me when I was a boy. He died in March 1973 a few days before I turned 16. BTW, a number of documents that were only recently declassified reveal that the Dieppe Raid was actually a cover operation whereby commandos under Ian Fleming (who after the war would create James Bond) were supposed to "pinch" intelligence Bletchley Park was desperately seeking to break the code of the four-rotor German Enigma in order to stop the carnage Nazi U-Boats were inflicting on convoys in the North Atlantic. A Canadian historian and writer, David O'Keefe has researched and written about this extensively.
So grateful to Canada, USA, UK and all Allied Forces for liberating our grandparents and parents from the Nazi occupation in the Netherlands and the Japanese Prisoner of War camps in Burma and Indonesia.
If it wasn’t for your sacrifices made we would not have existed🙏
Hope many Canadians will visit beautiful, warm and tropical Sri Lanka, these days an island of peace 🇱🇰🕊️
For a brief time I had a former Netherlander mother-in-law who lived through the occupation with her mother. After the war they emigrated to Java and then went through that independence mess.
@@michaeldowson6988They would have wanted to return home, the East🙏
❤ 🇳🇱 🇨🇦
Thanks for acknowledging this. My father volunteered for WW2, becoming a despatch rider firstly in England during the first Blitz, then in France and Italy. He said that the Italian clay was brutal, making forward movement of machinery difficult. His childhood friend was is the First Canadian Army, liberating the Netherlands.
Tidbit of information from my dad that isn't generally shared in history books: gonorrhea and syphilis almost brought down the Allied forces; sulpha drugs were used first, but penicillin wasn't available until about 1944.
#11: The more than 800,000 trucks of all sorts built in Canada during the war for the Allied armies.
A great video Simon. Too few in Canada know of the country's contributions to the Allied victory in the Second World War. While not a major global power that the US and UK were, Canada definitely punched well above its weight in the war. None to shabby for a country of around 15 million people, of which about a million served in the army, navy or air force.
That will be added to video for next channel, topelevenz
Thanks man most Americans think we didn’t fight or fight in any war
They tend to forget about 1812 and on.
That's only because they'd have to admit we burnt the White House to cinders in 1812.
I’m American and I surely never thought that just never knew the extent
That's because Americans tend to forget other countries outside their own exist.
Those who do know Canada fought in both world wars, honestly believe Canada was involved AFTER they themselves got there.
They completely forget we were in Korea, let alone the 3rd largest presence there.
Approx. 35-50 thousand Canadians fought in The Union Army as well.
Not many people know about the Canadian contribution to the war effort, and to the nuclear research.
I'm one American who actually DID know about Canada's nuclear contributions. (My family has deep roots in The Westinghouse Electric Company, So I know a bit of electrical and nuclear history). ALSO, A Canadian built the first usable "Walkie Talkie" during WW2. This is NOT as well known as that other more famous piece of Canadian communications tech: The telephone. Personally I would like to thank yinz Canadians for North America's BEST sports: Hockey and Basketball!!🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
Also first nuclear accident happened at Chalk River Ontario 1952
There's also the Battle of the St Lawrence! When Uboats attacked our coast.
You forgot to mention the key role Canada played in training radar operators for the Allies.
The video is only 10 contributions, not all contributions. 🇨🇦
My second cousin Fl/Off. John Milton McLay served as a navigator in RCAF 432 Squadron. On their first combat operation in a brand new Halifax III bomber they were shot down over Vervier Belgium. Six of they eight crew members were killed including my cousin. May they rest in peace.
In Ottawa, within the Peace Tower sits the Memorial Chamber. The chamber displays eight Books of Remembrance, books listing fallen Canadians. The chamber floor is comprised of stone collected from European battlefields Canadians participated in; Vimy, Ypres, Somme and Verdun. 11AM each morning sees each book turned to a new page; so it is possible to ascertain which day to be present for the reveal of a lost relative.
I witnessed this ceremony by happenstance. It was gripping.
Thank you for making this video
The German weather equipment was in the north tip of Labrador, not on the island of Newfoundland. It was several hundred miles further north.
He did that story a month ago on Today I Found Out. I guess he forgot 😂
@@sandybarnes887 A slip of the tongue maybe....
Interested to see the mention of Canada contribution to the Manhattan project, a fact almost unknown to the vast majority of Canadians amongst others. The heavy water plant at Trail BC including the buildings was and may still be an abandoned and contaminated site, it certainly has been for decades, but very little mentioned or known about what happened there. But it was the ideal site for such a plant because of lots of available hydro power and the huge, ancient Trail smelter operation nearby. Not a concern at the time I'm sure, but the whole country around Trail had long been devastated environmentally by the smelter emissions, so the addition of one more source was barely noticed. But this whole area is a prime example of how mother nature, given enough time, and with the help of much more stringent emissions standards, can slowly restore and reclaim even the worse of human screw ups. The hills around have substantially recovered over the last few decades.
My mother's father served in England from late 1942 till 1946, I still have his last pay stubs from his aircraft mechanics job in Edmonton, Alberta, dated December 1941. He was a aluminum welder and mechanic by trade before the war.
My grandfather ran a weapons manufacturing plant during ww2. The factory was responsible for manufacturing most of the weapons for Canada and England during ww2.
I figured the 1st Special Service Force would have showed up on a list like this with their distinctive red arrowhead patch.
Thank you for this.
My favorite contribution by Canada is participation in the First Special Service Force.
On D-Day, Canadian troops landed on the best defended beach of the operation and advanced further inland than any other landing group that day.
Yep!!! My grandfather was a US Army combat veteran of WWII. He always admired the absolute GUTS of the Canadians. Of course the nation that gave the world ice hockey is a nation that's not f***ing around! 🇨🇦👍😁👍🇨🇦
Yeah…but you had Scotty from Star Trek! 🤣😂
@@colinr1960Scotty WAS actually Canadian. Captain Kirk, too don't forget!🇨🇦
@@jamesslick4790 Yes. He went ashore on D-Day.
@@jamesslick4790 Well, except for hockey, Canadians don't start fights, they finish them! LOL
A long time ago, I knew the commander of the Communwhealt air navigation school in St-Hubert (near Motréal), Mr Guy Bell, he was a wonderful man.
I grand father served in ww2 in the Canadian Navy. I still have his medal of honor hanging on my wall.
My Uncle was a midshipman on the King George in the south Pacific ; he retired an Admiral .
In Canada we don't spell "Honour" like an American. 🇨🇦
Canada has never issued a Medal of Honour.
We do have the Victoria Cross, the Star of Military Valour, and the Medal of Military Valour.
As a Haligonian.. I'm familiar with most of these.. See also: Halifax Explosion, which you've covered on another channel 👍💥
Thanks for this, seriously. Great vids take care 😎🤘🍻
There’s an unbelievable amount of people even in Canada who don’t know Canada was apart of WW2
Canada was also instrumental to the negotiations and back-channel diplomacy that lead to America's contributions to the war before it formally entered with things like Lend-Lease. WLM King (you forgot the Lyon in the video, which is important because his first three names were his grandfather's, who led an unsuccessful rebellion and loomed large in the family lore, and was a directed inspiration for King entering politics) personally negotiated with Roosevelt, and had Roosevelt not apocryphally remembered being at college with King (they weren't there at the same time) he might not have been so warm with the stand-offish King and committed so fully to the project.
my grandfather served on a Bangor class, HMCS Digby, i ended up with the White Ensign that flew on her decommisioning
RIP Poppy Sam, thank you ❤
As a Canadian this makes me happy to see, as a Canadian Soldier, this makes me extatic. We're almost never depicted in pop culture despite this, if Hollywood would open its eyes, it could easily find material for a band of brother's type series and a whole era of movies.
My units story from WW2 does have an excellent book, and I'd love to see it be made into something like Band of Brother's but it's just not gonna happen. No one in Hollywood wants to make a movie about cancuks they want Americans
Canadian pilots, especially those of Trans-Canada Airways (forerunner to Air Canada) were instrumental in the development of the transatlantic ferry service that flew medium and heavy bombers across the Atlantic to Britain to save the time of dismantling them, sending the planes by ship and then having to re-assemble them in Britain. It also saved the risk of losing the planes to U-Boats and salt water damage (although the flights were also extremely hazardous). That experience contributed enormously to the post-war boom for intercontinental airline travel.
Yup. Our town was built to do that and was known as The Crossroads of the World during the beginning of the jet age.
@@sandybarnes887 Gander??
@@anthonyjackson280 you got it. He mentioned it briefly along with Torbay and Goose Bay
@@sandybarnes887 Gander airport was first established (to the best of my recollection) as the first refuelling stop for the Empire Flying Boats that pioneered transatlantic passenger routes just prior to WW2; Southhampton to NY
@@anthonyjackson280 we are an hour inland. Away from the possibility of U-boats or ships bombing us. The Short Empires landed on the coast in Botwood
💯 great content !
You might add "Camp X", a training area set up by Canadian soldier, business man and master spy, William Stephenson. Known by code name "Intrepid", he had become a senior representative of British intelligence and worked closely with the allies in their spy efforts.
Located in Ontario, Camp X trained recruits brought in from the SOE, FBI, and OSS to be covert agents. They were then sent to operate in enemy and occupied territories. Camp X was also a major radio communications centre used, among other tasks, to coordinate its agents.
Stephenson is credited with being a major influence of the fictional spy James Bond.
9:35 … Simon … 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion were dropped into Normandy the evening of June 5th to secure drop zones and key bridges and roads for the invasion.