The 100th anniversary of the First World War is now finished but the records will continue to be preserved at the Archives and accessible to current and future generations who want to know more about the time period. In addition, this blog will remain on our website as an additional resource.

Blog Archive:

January 2018

•   2 January: Lt.-Col. R. M. Dennistoun: New Year 1918 in London
•   8 January: Learning to fly during the First World War
• 15 January: “Kindly let me know”: In search of loved ones on the S.S. Baykerran
• 22 January: Kiwanis Club Luncheons, January 1918
• 29 January: New Parliament Buildings still under construction in 1918

February 2018

•   5 February: “Winnipeg Will Suffer Heavily” – Charles A.R. Gordon's 1916 War Diary
• 12 February: A valentine from Canada
• 19 February: The HBC and the creation of Memorial Boulevard
• 26 February: Charles Francis writes to his mother about a surprise visitor and his plans for “apres le guerre”

March 2018

•   5 March: Scrapbooking the First World War
• 12 March: An Officer's View of the Great War: Francis Collinson’s Scrapbook
• 19 March: Cecil Bradbury: from First World War veteran to HBC employee in the Eastern Arctic
• 26 March: “Greatest Battle of the War now raging”

April 2018

•   2 April: Troop Movements, Battles, and the Flu: War Diaries at the Archives of Manitoba
•   9 April: Frank Edmund Heath: another fur trader goes to war
• 16 April: Lieutenant John Boswell of the Winnipeg Rifles gets married during his leave
• 23 April: Back at Vimy Ridge, one year later
• 30 April: The Daniel Sayre MacKay photograph collection and the Young Soldiers Battalions

May 2018

•   7 May: “Remember Us Over Here:” Augusta Boulton, the Russell Red Cross Society, and the First World War
• 14 May: Mina Mowat receives the Royal Red Cross at Buckingham Palace
• 22 May: The S.S. Nascopie: Wartime Supply Vessel in the Arctic
• 28 May: The impact of the war on Manitoba's farms, May 1918

June 2018

•   4 June: Making more connections: “Staff of original Provincial Air Service” photograph
•   7 June: Hudson's Bay Company's Chartering Department
• 18 June: “Canukeenas let us holler”: The Canukeena Club of Winnipeg

July 2018

• 18 July: Canadian Corps Championships, France, Dominion Day, July 1st 1918
• 23 July: Russian Revolution and HBC: After the Execution of the Imperial Family
• 30 July: Women supporting the war effort with the IODE

August 2018

• 7 August: The view from London, August 1918
• 13 August: Russian Revolution and HBC: Allied Troops take Archangel
• 20 August: Wounded while flying over France
• 27 August: A Soldier's Belongings: the Arthur Rufus Morrison Wallet

September 2018

•   4 September: Rumours of Captain Boswell's death reach Souris
• 10 September: War correspondent J. F. B. Livesay documents Canada's 100 days
• 17 September: “We are winning the war at the front but not at home these days”
• 24 September: The S.S. Pelican Part 2: “…steaming at utmost speed”

October 2018

•   1 October: Shooting Straight: The Winnipeg Civilian Rifle Association and the First World War
•   9 October: Edith Rogers and the war effort on the home front
• 15 October: Spanish Influenza in Labrador: One fur trade post's story
• 22 October: Influenza in Brandon and rumours about the end of the war
• 29 October: Lilia May Cox and George N. James

November 2018

•   5 November: Remembering the Armistice at the Archives of Manitoba
•   7 November: Remembrance Day 2018: Remembering the First World War
•   9 November: Armistice: November 11, 1918
• 13 November: The end of the war and plans for the future
• 19 November: Captain Clarence Boswell on Garrison Duty with the Winnipeg Rifles in Germany
• 26 November: “Hurrah for the Allies”: HBC post journals and the end of the war

December 2018

•   3 December: The Spanish Influenza, a visit from the U. S. President and a party with the Queen: Col. R. M. Dennistoun's report from London
• 10 December: HBC and the re-instatement of discharged service men into the workforce
• 17 December: “Such an employment would be not only unseemly, but abhorrent”: Controversy and the Winnipeg Cenotaph
• 21 December: Canadian Light Horse Christmas dinner
• 31 December: At Home and Away: the end of our First World War blog

back to top

January 2017

•   3 January: One Manitoba Soldier: The new year, 1917
•   9 January: One Manitoba Soldier: “Good by Dad”
• 16 January: One Manitoba Soldier: “I am quite well”
• 23 January: One Manitoba Soldier: Not in the humour to write
• 30 January: One Manitoba Soldier: The best parcels

February 2017

•   6 February: One Manitoba Soldier: Charles's letters home
• 13 February: One Manitoba Soldier: Billeted in a big town
• 20 February: One Manitoba Soldier: Clean sheets and a hot bat
• 27 February: One Manitoba Soldier: Letters to siblings

March 2017

•   6 March: One Manitoba Soldier: George's 20^th birthday
• 13 March: One Manitoba Soldier: Opened by censor
• 15 March: Manitobans at the Battle of Vimy Ridge
• 20 March: One Manitoba Soldier: “Remember me to anybody that I know”
• 23 March: 100^th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge: A soldier's diary
• 27 March: One Manitoba Soldier: A postcard for Mother
• 30 March: 100^th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge: Trench maps

April 2017

•   3 April: One Manitoba Soldier: George Battershill's last letters home
•   4 April: An open house commemorating the 100^th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge
• 10 April: Remembering the Battle of Vimy Ridge at the Archives of Manitoba
• 11 April: 100^th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge: A soldier's diary
• 18 April: One Manitoba Soldier: George Battershill, died of wounds, April 17, 1917
• 24 April: The 44^th Battalion Memorial at Vimy Ridge Memorial Park

May 2017

•   1 May: “On Active Service”: Frank Leathers – follow-up #1
•   8 May: How to Live in Wartime

June 2017

• 19 June: Russian Revolution and the HBC
• 26 June: Dominion Day, Camp Sewell

July 2017

•   4 July: Celebrating Canada's 50^th birthday in France 100 years ago
• 10 July: Enemy fire: The Nascopie encounters a German submarine
• 17 July: Exploring London While On Leave
• 24 July: “On Active Service”: Herb Francis – follow-up #2
• 31 July: “Doing your duty as a free man”

August 2017

•   8 August: A different perspective – Lt.-Col. R. M. Dennistoun, Deputy Judge Advocate General, C. E. F. HQ, London
• 14 August: Closer to the action: Lt.-Col. R. M. Dennistoun, Deputy Judge Advocate General in France
• 21 August: Disposing of Secret Documents: The S.S. Baysoto and Captain Kirby
• 28 August: Waiting for conscription: “…there will be lots of time yet for soldiering.”

September 2017

•   5 September: Manitoban soldiers received support from British relatives
• 11 September: Russian Revolution and the HBC: A Refugee Crisis
• 18 September: “This war must be won by the people at home.”
• 25 September: Third Canadian Division Athletic Meet, September 21^st, 1917

October 2017

•   2 October: The S.S. Nascopie and Worried Loved Ones at Home
• 10 October: Thanksgiving 1917: a harvest of plenty in Benito, Manitoba
• 16 October: Minnie Campbell's military war album
• 23 October: Mina Mowat, nursing sister, Canadian Army Medical Corps
• 30 October: Passchendaele: “A big jelly pot of wet mud and water… quivering under the fire of the guns.”

November 2017

•   6 November: Cavalryman and diarist George Hambley at Passchendaele
•   7 November: 1918: the last year of the war
• 14 November: Messages by Wire: Telegrams from the Time of the First World War
• 20 November: The S.S. Pelican
• 27 November: Military service exemption for farmers – a letter to the Premier

December 2017

•   4 December: A Soldier's Farewell
• 11 December: First World War postcards
• 18 December: Christmas menu for Canadian troops training in England
• 27 December: Russian Revolution and the HBC: Christmas amidst chaos

back to top

January 2016

•   4 January: Come Celebrate the 100^th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage in Manitoba!
• 11 January: The 100^th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage: Newspapers From the Day
• 18 January: The 100^th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage: Manitoba Women are First in Canada to Get the Provincial Vote

April 2016

• 20 April: One Manitoba Soldier: The letters of George Battershill
• 25 April: One Manitoba Soldier: George Battershill arrives in England

May 2016

•   2 May: One Manitoba Soldier: Back from London and on to Shorncliffe
•   9 May: One Manitoba Soldier: At Shorncliffe
• 12 May: The Panoramic Record: Wide-Angle Photographs from the time of the First World War
• 16 May: One Manitoba Soldier: Letters to Mother and to Dad
• 24 May: One Manitoba Soldier: More from Shorncliffe
• 30 May: One Manitoba Soldier: “By the time you get this, I'll be in France”

June 2016

•   6 June: One Manitoba Soldier: Somewhere in France
• 13 June: One Manitoba Soldier: “Not in the trenches yet”
• 20 June: One Manitoba Soldier: Somewhere in Belgium
• 27 June: One Manitoba Soldier: Nine days in the trenches

July 2016

•   4 July: One Manitoba Soldier: Writing letters and waiting for more
• 11 July: Panoramic photo of the 61^st Battalion: Where's George Battershill?
• 18 July: One Manitoba Soldier: Out of the trenches
• 25 July: One Manitoba Soldier: Friends at the front

August 2016

•   2 August: One Manitoba Soldier: I remain, as B4, GeoB
•   8 August: One Manitoba Soldier: “It is great fun in one of these holes”
• 15 August: One Manitoba Soldier: Visiting friends at the 78^th Battalion, the Winnipeg Grenadiers
• 22 August: One Manitoba Soldier: “I think it will be over pretty soon…”
• 29 August: One Manitoba Soldier: Writing from a farm house

September 2016

•   6 September: One Manitoba Soldier: Back to the Machine Gun Section
• 12 September: One Manitoba Soldier: Wounded
• 19 September: One Manitoba Soldier: Back at the Front
• 26 September: One Manitoba Soldier: Out of Money

October 2016

• 11 October: One Manitoba Soldier: A “whiz bang” to mother
• 17 October: One Manitoba Soldier: Too many letters to answer
• 24 October: One Manitoba Soldier: Tanks!
• 31 October: One Manitoba Soldier: One quick letter to Mother

November 2016

•   7 November: One Manitoba Soldier: Remembering
• 14 November: One Manitoba Soldier: Dear Kid
• 21 November: One Manitoba Soldier: Family connections
• 28 November: One Manitoba Soldier: Looking forward to Christmas

December 2016

•   5 December: One Manitoba Soldier: “I hope we are home for next Christmas”
• 12 December: One Manitoba Soldier: Letters and parcels
• 19 December: One Manitoba Soldier: Christmas Eve at the front
• 28 December: One Manitoba Soldier: Christmas Day truce

back to top

January 2015

•   5 January: Thanks for the “Flours”
• 12 January: The S.S. Nascopie
• 19 January: Presentation of Badges at Winnipeg City Hall
• 26 January: Counting Down to the 100^th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage

February 2015

•   2 February: Patriotic Funders: A Helping Hand from the R.M. of Roblin
•   9 February: The S.S. Nascopie – Captain Mack
• 17 February: Life – and Lice – in the Trenches
• 23 February: Counting Down to the 100^th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage: the Political Equality League

March 2015

•   2 March: Smellie of the Nascopie
•   9 March: Alarm Clocks, Underwear and Everything in Between
• 16 March: The Manitoba Legislative Building: Photographing a Work in Progress

April 2015

• 22 April: Keeping a Diary in the Trenches
• 27 April: Hudson's Bay Company & Cable Communications

May 2015

•   4 May: British Empire Army Certificate of Identity for Civilians Wearing the Red Cross Brassard
• 12 May: “On Active Service”: First World War letters at the Archives of Manitoba
• 19 May: Counting Down to the 100^th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage: The Political Equality League and the New Premier Arrange to Meet
• 25 May: Quiet on the Home Front

June 2015

•   1 June: The 6^th Battalion “Fort Garry Horse”
•   8 June: “Whiz bangs”: Field Service Post Cards
• 15 June: The Beginnings of the S.S. Nascopie
• 22 June: Counting Down to the 100^th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage: The Members of the Roaring River Political Equality League Inform the New Premier of their Disappointment
• 29 June: Partial Index of Manitoba Soldiers Killed in the First World War

July 2015

•   6 July: Political and Social Commentary in Letters from Home
• 13 July: First World War Letters Online!
• 20 July: Postcards sent during the First World War
• 27 July: Vimy Ridge Pilgrimage

August 2015

•   4 August: A Day in the Conservation Lab: Stabilizing Brittle Papers from 100 Years Ago
• 10 August: First World War Ration Booklet
• 17 August: Intelligence-Gathering at Sea
• 24 August: 28^th Battalion Leave for the Front
• 31 August: Back to School, 1915

September 2015

•   8 September: Vessels of War
• 14 September: Counting Down to the 100^th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage: Sigurvon, the Gimli Suffrage Association
• 21 September: New First World War Records at the Archives of Manitoba
• 28 September: Private Letters in Corporate Records

October 2015

•   5 October: Manitoba's War Effort Takes Flight
• 13 October: Counting Down to the 100^th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage: “How the Vote Was Won”
• 19 October: Hudson's Bay Company’s General Court and the Victoria Cross
• 26 October: Counting Down to the 100^th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage: The Political Equality League Constitution, 1914

November 2015

•   2 November: The First World War in Letters: a public event at the Archives
•   9 November: Remembering the First World War at the Archives of Manitoba
• 16 November: Nellie McClung “…that greatest of all Western women…”
• 23 November: HBCA Search Tools – Ships Histories
• 30 November: Discovering the Discovery

December 2015

•   7 December: “In Flanders Fields”
• 14 December: Christmas Greetings from the Canadian Machine Gun School
• 21 December: Christmas in the Wards
• 29 December: Counting Down to the 100^th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage: the Political Equality League Presents a Petition of Almost 40,000 Signatures to the Executive Council

back to top

May 2014

• 26 May:  Search Tip: Researching the First World War
• 20 May:  Meet the Battershill family of East Kildonan
• 13 May:  At Home: Winnipeg, 1914-1915
• 12 May:  At Home and Away

June 2014

• 23 June:  Hudson’s Bay Company Operations in Canada, 1914
• 16 June:  Photographs Document Construction of Manitoba’s Legislative Building 1915-16
•   9 June:  Road Work Season
•   2 June:  HBC’s Winnipeg Store in 1914

July 2014

• 28 July:  William’s Garden
• 21 July:  Play Ball!
• 14 July:  Vancouver’s New HBC Store
•   7 July:  Military Parade
•   2 July:  Kitchen Patriotism

August 2014

• 25 August: Cordial Communications
• 18 August: Enlisting
• 11 August: Taking the Plunge
•   5 August: War is declared!

September 2014

• 29 September:  “Boys, Our Hearts Are With You”
• 22 September:  Search Tip: How to use the Keystone database for First World War research
• 15 September:  Soldiers’ wills
•   8 September:  Unanticipated impacts
•   2 September:  Answering the Call of the Motherland

October 2014

• 27 October: Place your order here
• 20 October: More Battershill letters donated to the Archives
• 14 October: Wartime Cookery
•   6 October: Supply and Demand

November 2014

• 24 November: Registering for War
• 17 November: Shifting into Gear
• 10 November: Lest We Forget: Records document Manitoba casualties of the First World War
•   3 November: The Troops

December 2014

• 29 December: Just a wee note…
• 22 December: Christmas at the Front
• 15 December: What a gift! 50,000 bags of Manitoba No. 1 hard wheat flour
•   8 December: At a Crossroads
•   1 December: On the Home Front: What’s Up with the Winnipeg Streetcar Service?

back to top