The art of war: Paintings by acclaimed artists shipped to Second World War troops to lift their spirits

Canada’s artists didn’t leap from landing craft onto Juno Beach nor did they incur heavy casualties at Ortona or on supply ships during the Battle of the Atlantic.

Like many Canadians who were not on the front lines during the Second World War though, artists found ways to do their part in the war effort that went beyond purchasing Victory Bonds or rationing sugar and flour.

One such plan that almost faded away in eight decades of history is getting a revival this month in Winnipeg.

The Sampson-Matthews Print Program brought oil-silkscreen pictures of Canada to army barracks, air-force bases, mess halls and training camps in Canada and Europe to remind servicemen and women of home.

Wooden crucifix, crafted from destroyed church, honours Winnipeg Rifles major lost in battle

Plaques and memorials to men who died in the First World War were placed in many of Winnipeg’s older churches.

One such memorial — an old wooden cross — rests in the Lady Chapel at All Saints Anglican Church.

Under the headline Rude Wooden Cross Honors “No. 1, C.E.F.,” the Sept. 30, 1929 edition of the Winnipeg Free Press informed readers of an impressive ceremony attended by hundreds of men with the 90th Winnipeg Rifles that took place at the church.

The inscription on the darkly stained, starkly simple cross reads:

Cribbage appeal still thrives in our veterans’ halls, whether for camaraderie or competition

Royal Canadian Legion branches from coast to coast will host Remembrance Day services on Saturday, and once all the speeches, prayers and moments of silence are through, members and guests will likely commiserate over a cold one, and a round or three of what’s been called the “greatest pastime.”

Over time, cribbage, a two-, three- or four-person game that combines a standard deck of playing cards, coloured pegs and a distinctive scorekeeping board, has become as synonymous with this country’s veterans’ halls as affordable suds and meat draws.

Here in Winnipeg, so-called crib nights are staged at one branch or another Monday through Friday, and routinely draw crowds of people well versed in terminology such as dime, muggins and stink hole.

Remembering the fallen — gratefully

Every now and then I want you to know precisely when I’m writing this column, my personal letter to Manitobans. It is 4:30 on Thursday morning. Because Saturday is Remembrance Day, the weekend edition is being published on Friday. My deadline as always is one day before publication. Now, 4:30 a.m. is an early start for many. But I also owe you the knowledge that I poured my first cup of coffee at 2:30 a.m.

I rarely sleep more than four hours a night, and it’s just as rare for me to sleep for an entire hour without rising from the bed, chair, couch or rug. It would be easy to rhetorically quiet the nocturnal noise by declaring that nature frequently knocks on sleep’s door. But that would be a long prairie drive from a town we call Truth.

It’s not poor plumbing that’s keeping this writer awake. In professional sport, teams refer to injuries as upper or lower body. I could tell you that my frequently interrupted sleep is a lower body thing. But it is not. The intruder is a sadistic prison guard living in the upper part.

Many reading this, are undoubtedly recalling that getting up in the middle of the night became a regular thing, once they hit middle age.

Historian seeks to learn about lives of soldiers on war memorial

Richard Van Neste. William Oliver Dalgleish. David Lawson Walker. Edward George Lowman.

Along with about 1,600 others from Winnipeg who were killed during the First World War, they are listed on the Next of Kin memorial at the northwest corner of the Manitoba legislature grounds, at the intersection of Broadway and Memorial.

The names mean a lot to Darryl Toews, who teaches history at Morden Collegiate Institute.

“I’m passionate about the history of that war,” said Toews, 53. “What made those men make that ultimate sacrifice and how can we remember them?”

Dutch siblings have fond memories of wartime dinners with Winnipeg soldiers

A Dutch family that hosted two Winnipeg soldiers for dinner every Sunday night for months during the Second World War is hoping to connect with them or their family.

Alfons Van Wijk, 81, and his 83-year-old sister, Rose Bakker, are hoping that either the soldiers are still alive, or they told their family members about the dinners they had with the family that had six young children.

Van Wijk was only two and Bakker was almost four at the time, so neither of the siblings remember much about the soldiers. The family left the Netherlands and moved to Canada in 1956.

“I remember them and I remember where they sat at the table,” Bakker said.

Rye and remembrance

The beaches of Normandy, France seem far away even today, but it is impossible to imagine how far away they seemed from the Canadian prairies during the Second World War.

What’s open and closed this Remembrance Day

People across Canada will take time this week to honour the country’s veterans and active Armed Forces members for Remembrance Day (Nov. 11).

Services will be held Saturday at Royal Canadian Legion branches across Manitoba, starting at 10 a.m.

The Free Press is not publishing a print or e-edition Saturday, but Friday’s newspaper will include special features typically published on the weekend. Readers can also visit winnipegfreepress.com for the latest news and information.

Many businesses and government services will change their hours for Saturday and the following Monday.

Massive blanket of poppies at legislature honours Canada’s fallen soldiers

A blanket comprised of thousands of fabric poppies to honour veterans has been rolled out inside the Manitoba legislature.

The 26-metre-long Poppy Blanket, created with the work of hundreds of volunteers in 2019, has been set up to cascade down the entire length of the Grand Staircase between the buffalo statues at the front entrance of the Legislative Building, where it will remain until about a week after Remembrance Day.

Sheilah Lee Restall was inspired to begin the project to honour members of the Canadian Armed Forces after hearing about another poppy blanket created in the United Kingdom.

“I don’t think I would want it out somewhere permanently,” Restall said shortly after helping to set it up on Monday.

There are likely many atheists in foxholes these days

“Our veterans don’t have a prayer under Trudeau.”

That’s what Conservative party Leader Pierre Poilievre tweeted (Xed?) last month following news that chaplains in the Canadian Armed Forces had been asked to be sensitive when praying at public events where people of many faiths, or no faith, might be gathered.

“Now his government is banning Muslim, Jewish and Christian military chaplains from praying at Remembrance Day ceremonies,” Poilievre said, adding “I will reverse this insanity when I am Prime Minister.”

Poilievre got that information from the Epoch Times, a far-right publication. It was later picked up by other right-leaning news outlets. But it was wrong, and he was wrong to repeat it. Chaplains were not told to not pray at Remembrance Day ceremonies. They were just instructed to be careful when praying in multi-faith settings.

Manitoba peacekeeper's mom honoured as Silver Cross Mother

OTTAWA - Chris Holopina called his mom in Manitoba every single week while he was deployed in Bosnia in 1996.

At 22, he was doing exactly what he'd always wanted to do: serving in the Canadian Armed Forces as a combat engineer.

Gloria Hooper remembers how grateful she was that he was able to find time for those weekly calls.

"I couldn't believe it," she said in an interview on Tuesday from her home in St. Claude, Man.