While many see only big artillery and tanks when thinking of those who fought on land, the roles of people in the army ranged and still range considerably. While there may no longer be the mounted rifles, forestry and railway construction divisions, there were and are field artillery, infantry, supply managers, , weapon and ammunition management, dentists, medical services, cooks, snipers, sappers, engineers, signalers, mechanics, logisticians, electrical and mechanical engineers, chaplain services, military police, legal personnel, musicians, intelligence, headquarters staff, and more. As well, within these areas of service, some required additional skills, from skiing to translation to lots of painstaking recordkeeping.
Also, although every November we remember the trenches of Europe, some of the people from or summering in the Metis area fought, were wounded or incarcerated as prisoners of war, died, or kept the peace around the world. Here are some of their stories.
- The official lineage of The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada infantry regiment
- And the messenger boy wept… (John Cowans)
The Van Doos / Le Royal 22e Régiment
- Surviving the Great Escape (Lorna Bethell, about Tony Bethell)
- My Hong Kong Experiences during World War II (C. Douglas Johnston, Lieutenant, Royal Rifles of Canada)
End of World War 1: Metis summer resident, representing Canada following the Liberation, presents Mons (Belgium) Mayor with two of the Canadian field guns that fired the final shots of World War I.
