Discover the military history of the Okanagan
Articles and stories from military historians
At Vimy, Still
To mark Vimy Ridge Day let us remember three Okanagan soldiers that died at Vimy Ridge in France. This battle on April 9, 1917, became a cornerstone of Canadian identity after the First World War ended in 1919. That identity was paid for in blood, sweat, and scars by...
Pearkes’ Dilemma: The Avro Arrow and Defending a Continent
February 20, 1959, was the day that the Diefenbaker Conservative government cancelled the AVRO Arrow aircraft program. Much ink has been spent discussing the psychological, economic, and technological impact, including the...
From the Somme to the Okanagan Valley: The Surprising Journey of a Memorial Cross – “An Author’s Surprise”
Sometimes, when we travel somewhere, we encounter something remarkably close to our interests that is a fantastic surprise discovery. Such happened to a tourist to Kelowna wishing to explore the Okanagan Military Museum years ago. One day, a gentleman...
Nursing Orderly’s Badge Collection Tells Fascinating WW2 Story
Jeannie’s cape is like an autograph book!
Imagine how many fascinating people you have met this year alone. What tokens of those encounters do you still have, apart from your memories? This collection of cloth badges from the Second World War reads like an autograph book. Badges, removed from the uniforms of the many British, Canadian and other allied forces men, were given to Nursing Orderly Jean “Jeannie” Daisy Amos. She sewed them inside her nursing cape [Fig. 1] while working at the 106 (British) General Hospital from September 1941 to December 1946 in Peebles, Scotland, Bayeux, France and Antwerp, Belgium. She wore the British Red Cross Society Voluntary Aid Detachment badge like this one on her uniform. [Fig. 2]
Operation PEREGRINE and the Okanagan Mountain Fire of 2003
August 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the Okanagan Mountain Fire near Kelowna. At the time, many large fires in British Columbia were raging, which overwhelmed the provincial forestry services and precipitated a request for “aid to civil power” to the federal...
Friendly Fire from Above
Major-General Rodney Frederick Leopold Keller C.B.EBCD-P-1123.21 Canadians, British and Americans landed in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Canada’s 3rd Infantry Division carried the flag for Canada inland towards Caen, France. Two months later, British and Canadian...
The Forgotten Service of Chic Mori
“Few people know this even to this day. Many Japanese Canadians know it. The families of the veterans know it. The veterans know it. Somewhere among their possessions they have medals to prove it.” Years of Sorrow, Years of Shame [unattributed quote] Sgt....
BC Dragoons go to Czechoslovakia, 1945
During the Second World War, Prime Minister Mackenzie King aimed to manage the Canadian obligations to the war effort while balancing competing concerns from London and, later, Washington with Canadian needs. He foresaw Canada’s role as an emerging middle power after...
Reading a Location on a First World War Map
There is so much in the background about maps made in this era that we won’t delve into details, such as the conversion of coordinates to GPS or the theory of longitude and latitude here. [See notes for more resources.] However, we have several maps of different...
Visit the Okanagan Military Museum
Step inside and feel the dedication to service and memory which inspired the museum’s founders. The Okanagan Military Museum reveals how local men and women met the call of duty and contributed to events on the world stage.
“For two decades now, our collection has wowed both locals and visitors, and we’re excited for that to continue. This is part of our shared history and a chance for us to come together in remembrance.”
– Keith Boehmer, Military Historian