Lest We Forget

Every year on November 11, we remember the courage and sacrifice of all those who have served Canada in times of war.

Our photo of the week shows Cardinal McGuigan among the headstones of fallen soldiers at the Canadian military cemetery in Moro River, Ortona, Italy.

 

"His Eminence James Cardinal McGuigan officiates at Canadian military cemetery, Ortona (five hours drive from Rome). He is seen talking with Mr. Jean Desy, Canadian ambassador to Rome and the Archbishop of the Italian military army. Speeches were made by the Canadian Speaker of the House, Mr. MacDonald, Mr. Gagnon, Mr. Pouliet of Quebec and others"

PH 09H/44AL

ARCAT Photo Collection


The photograph was taken in November 1950, following the blessing of a new chapel at the Moro River Canadian War Cemetery in Ortono. Canadian donations funded the construction of the new chapel to replace one that had been destroyed during the war. In 1944 official war artist Lieutenant Comfort painted a striking painting of the damage to the church; this painting is now part of The Canadian War Museum collection and viewable on their website.

 

His Eminence Cardinal McGuigan gave the sermon for the blessing of the rebuilt chapel and, Archbishop Maruice Roy of Quebec officiated. The photograph also shows Canadian Ambassador to Italy, Honorable Jean Desy, who formally presented the chapel to Italian authorities after the ceremony.

The Canadian Corps selected Moro River as the site for a cemetery in January 1944 to bury Candian soldiers who died before, during and after the Battle of Ortona in December of 1943. The First Canadian Infantry Division was ordered to take Ortona as part of a larger campaign to break the German line of defence on Italy’s eastern coast. After 8 days of fighting, the Germans withdrew, but not without a price: by the end of the battle over 500 Canadian casualties were reported. Canadian troops continued to make advances and patrol the area until spring of 1944.

The main road to the cemetery passes under an archway in the very chapel blessed by Cardinal McGuigan and Archbishop Roy 68 years ago. There are 1615 individuals buried at the cemetery, 1375 of which are identified as Canadian soldiers.

We Remember.

ARCAT Goes to The Ex

The 2016 Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) -- or The Ex, as we all know it -- opens today in Toronto. This annual tradition, formerly called the Toronto Industrial Exhibition, started in 1879 and is Canada's largest community event. To celebrate the CNE, here are some photographs from ARCAT's collection of other events that have happened on the CNE grounds.

Despite the Canadian military occupying parts of the CNE grounds during World War I, the CNE continued to be held each year. During World War II, however, the entirety of the CNE grounds was used by the military, so the fair was not held during those years. A rally and a mass were held at the Stadium for the soldiers in 1944.

Soldiers' Rally and Mass, CNE Stadium, 1944
Note the ad for cigarettes way in the back at the top of the stadium.

PH09W/56P

Soldiers' Rally and Mass, CNE Stadium, 1944

PH09W/59P

Soldiers' Rally and Mass, CNE Stadium, 1944
Note the other interesting ads in the background.

PH09W/25P

Soldiers' Rally and Mass, CNE Stadium, 1944
Rosary created by humans and sheets

Photo credit: Pringle & Booth Ltd., Toronto

PH09W/27P

Cardinal McGuigan participated in the Rosary Crusade in Toronto.

Cardinal McGuigan at the Rosary Crusade, CNE Stadium, ca. 1961

PH09R/78P

Every opening day must have a ceremony!

Archbishop Pocock sits third from right at the opening day ceremonies
at the CNE bandshell, August 15, 1974

PH14D/12CP

Pope John Paul II attended the Polish Rally at the CNE Stadium during his Papal Visit to Canada in 1984.

Pope John Paul II speaks to a large crowd at the Polish Rally,
CNE Stadium, September 14, 1984

Photo credit: Foto Felici, Rome

PH65/317CP

The CNE runs for 18 days. More information about the CNE, including its long and interesting history, can be found on their website. Let's go to The Ex!

Record of the Week: Housing our Veterans

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

The war increased Canadian farm and factory production to unprecedented levels.  By 1942 Canada was supplying its allies with billions of dollars' worth of goods. Toronto received a large influx of people working in munitions plants and other factories incidental to the war. At the same time, there was a shortage of manpower and building materials necessary to supply these workers with new dwellings.

In April 1944, the Mayor of Toronto, Robert Saunders appealed to all Toronto churches for their urgent assistance to ease the housing crisis: 

"If every church in the city, some 400 in number, could be the means of each providing at least one dwelling unit, 400 families could be housed and the citizens who so accommodate such a family would be playing an important part in the war effort and at the same time be recompensed for this effort in the form of rental." (ARCAT SW HC08.03b)

 Soldiers' wives and children were also affected by lack of affordable, available housing. On 16 June 1944, The Evening Telegram published a letter in response to a Housing Registry report that had appeared in the newspaper:

"Of the 2,157 applications for accommodations received, about 1,700 are from wives of men serving overseas...The men who went out to fight our battles left the welfare of their families in our care...Soldiers are only as good as their morale, and what solider can feel contented  with this situation confronting his family?"

When the Allies declared victory in 1945, returning military service personnel were faced with similar overcrowded living conditions. The Citizens Rehabilitation Committee of Toronto, with the support of Archbishop McGuigan, launched a parish campaign to make unused residential space available to over 4,000 veterans and their families:

Second World War series, SW HC08.04b

December 7, 1945

In Toronto there is a very great shortage of housing accommodation. Men are back and more are daily returning from overseas service to find that here in the city from which they enlisted there is no housing accommodations for themselves and their families...

We are approaching the holy season of Christmas and it is not nice to think that  many who spent one to five Christmases away from all the comforts and pleasure of Christmas, are, because of the housing shortage, being forced with their families to live in basements, attics, tourist cabins and shacks. One hesitates to think of what thoughts these men may have in regard to those of us who have lived in the peace and comfort of our own homes. 

What a wonderful Christmas gift it would be if we could help these men to live for a few months in decent surroundings.

Second World War series, SW HC08.04b

The Church in Canada contributed to the war effort through chaplaincy services, assisting with relief efforts abroad and mitigating humanitarian crises at home. 

See how you can continue to honour, support and remember our veterans.

New exhibit on Military Chaplains

Today, St. James Anglican Cathedral in Toronto opens a new exhibit to mark the centenary of the Great War.  Called to Serve presents records and artifacts from chaplains of numerous faiths serving Canada's military from the nineteenth century to present day.

ARCAT contributed photographs to the exhibit, including the image on the poster below.

According to the media release:

"The first ever of its kind in Canada, this exhibit will chronicle and pay tribute to the
brave service of the padres who donned battle dress and joined members of the armed
forces on the front lines of past wars and still walk with them today in regions of armed
conflict and natural disasters. Unarmed and often working alongside medical field
personnel, chaplains lend spiritual support to fighting troops, comfort the wounded and
bereaved, console the dying and provide dignified burial for the dead. They also care
spiritually for the families of military personnel. 

"Reaching back into history, the comprehensive display will chronicle the Canadian
chaplaincy’s evolution from its largely Christian origins before the Boer War to the
inclusive multi-faith mosaic of men and women it is today. Called to Serve will tell its
powerful story through photographs, paintings, press clippings, posters, letters, poems,
uniforms, insignia, embroidery, liturgical apparel and artifacts, as well as testimonies
from across generations and across the land."

If you are looking for a unique way to observe Remembrance Day, stop by this unprecedented (and free!) exhibit in the heart of Toronto from now until November 16th.

Record of the week: Catholic military chaplains serving our soldiers

On June 4, 1944 - two days before D-Day - Rev. Michael J. Dalton, Chaplain of the 4th Brigade,
celebrates Mass for soldiers, using a jeep as a makeshift altar.
PH 09W/11P