“Timberlands of B.C. threatened by Japanese incendiary bombs.”1 Bomb carrying balloons floated over Canada and the United States in 1945. Each of the estimated 9,300 balloons released carried at least one high explosive and two incendiary munitions that would be...
Warning. This article may contain themes and language some may find offensive. Leading up to the start of World War II, British Columbia was gripped by fear of the so-called ‘Oriental Menace.’1 Many believed that Asian immigrants would soon dominate commercial,...
Hundreds of parcels mailed to Okanagan service men and women overseas were provided by numerous community groups such as the Peachland Comforts’ Club. Contents included a cake, tobacco and cigarette papers, a tin of fish, a chocolate bar, packs of gum, soup, biscuits,...
On July 18, 2024, the Kelowna Chinese History Group and the Chinese Freemasons of Kelowna partnered to host a visit to the training camp at Commando Bay on Okanagan Lake. This camp existed for only a few months from May to September 1944, as part of Canada’s...
In Part I, we followed the 9th Canadian Armoured Regiment (British Columbia Dragoons), of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division, down into the Foglia River valley to breach the German defences of the Gothic Line above Montecchio and into the highlands around Tomba di...
The Italian Campaign saw large contingents of American, British, Canadian, and other Allied forces—both army, air units—unite to liberate Italy from Nazi German control, advancing from Sicily to the Alps. The Apennine Mountains, like a spine down the country’s length,...