We're back with a bonus episode in our series with Canadian authors and their new releases this fall. In this episode we're joined by Canadian military historian David Borys. David Borys' new book Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 is a photograph-rich history of 150 years of the Canadian military that traces the evolution of the country’s armed forces from a small, underfunded, poorly trained militia to the modern, effective military it is today.

This fall, Juno Beach and Beyond is sharing a three-part series with Canadian authors and their new releases. In this episode, we're joined by journalist and author Nahlah Ayed. Nahlah’s newest book, The War We Won Apart: The untold story of two elite agents who became one of the most decorated couples of WWII, came out earlier this year. The book details the life and love story of Guy D’Artois and his British Warbride Sonia D’Artois,  two “Special Operations Executive” agents who parachuted behind enemy lines in France in preparation for Allied Landings of D-Day. Disclaimer: This episode contains a discussion on sexual assault.

This fall, Juno Beach and Beyond is sharing a three-part series on Canadian authors with new releases. In episode 2, we’re joined by Tim Cook to talk about the importance of the Canada-USA alliance during the Second World War. Canada and our American neighbours share so much: we share the longest border between any two...

Ted Barris shares stories from his new book that take us through the highs and lows of the eager and talented young men who fought to protect Britain from the skies, and the impressive air training scheme and industry back home that made much of it possible.

Preston Duncan Campbell was several months shy of his 25th birthday when he became one of nearly 300 casualties from the Algonquin Regiment between February 27th and March 10th, 1945. In this episode of Juno Beach and Beyond, his great-nephew, Darin MacDonald, tells Preston's story.

The Battle of the Atlantic lasted 2074 days and claimed the lives of more than 4,000 men and women in the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian merchant navy. This month on Juno Beach and Beyond, Juno Beach Centre Association Executive Director Alex Fitzgerald-Black sits down with author and historian...

Wilson Brooks, Ella Jackson, and Kenneth Jacobs were all fighting a Double War against fascism and racism. This month we share the inspiring legacies of three remarkable Black Canadian Veterans. Listener note: Wilson Brooks is referred to as a navigator. Brooks was a bomb-aimer.

When she was 8 years old, Grace Eiko Thomson was uprooted from her home in Vancouver, BC and sent to the Minto Mines Japanese Canadian Internment Camp. She was one of an estimated 21,000 Japanese Canadians who were interned by the government during the Second World War. In this episode, Grace tells her story.

From stretcher bearers risking their lives to save others to the collection of fallen soldiers’ body parts without their consent, military historian Tim Cook joins us to talk about Canadian medical intervention in the First World War.

Todays story and excerpts come from the book titled Patton’s Gap: Mustangs Over Normandy written by Major General Richard Rohmer. Rohmer’s accounts of his time as a reconnaissance pilot during the Second World War presents an often underappreciated role that many pilots in the Air Force played in identifying key strategic targets.  Timestamps 0:00 |...

Written in 1994, Company Sergeant-Major Charles Cromwell Martin tells his story as a member of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada in his memoir titled Battle Diary: From D-Day and Normandy to the Zuider Zee and VE. His story explores the events of D-Day and beyond as a leading Sergeant of A Company in the QOR, including firsthand experiences...

This edition of Witnesses to History tells the story of Fred Turnbull through the words of his book “Invasion Diaries”. Fred’s role as a member of the Royal Navy’s Combined Operations led him to take part in some of the most significant landing operations in the Second World War, as well as some of those...

On this episode of Juno Beach & Beyond, we had the opportunity to speak with Al McAlder from Sherwood Park, Alberta, about the story of his father, Douglas McAlder, who was an infantry soldier with the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders at Dieppe. Not only was he a part of the invasion on August 19th, 1942,...

Today’s episode is focused on telling the stories of a few of the many Canadian soldiers who lost their lives during the Dieppe Raid on August 19th, 1942. Through the course of these stories, it is clear that the Canadians who fought at Dieppe were a diverse group of men with their own individual personalities,...

*Content Warning from 20:00 to 25:45* The Canadian soldiers of “C” Force deployed to Hong Kong in 1941 faced a difficult task; defense against an assault by the Japanese. Cut off from most supplies and reinforcements, the brave defenders surrendered on Christmas Day of 1941, ending the Battle of Hong Kong. Many Canadian soldiers were...

For many Canadians, mention of the name Farley Mowat is sure to pique the interest of most. Some Canadians might know Mowat as an environmentalist- a man whose writing and activism helped to change popular attitudes towards nature. His writing on the Canadian North specifically helped to draw much popular attention to occurrences in the...

Today's episode is dedicated to Canada's most proficient fighter pilot in the Second World War, George Buerling and his many stories from his time in the Royal Air Force.

The Italian Campaign in the Second World War is often overshadowed by the legacy of the D-Day Landings in June of 1944, however the soldiers who served in “Sunny Italy” faced their own share of trials and tribulations. The story of RSM Harry Fox is just one of these accounts. The collection of stories found...

Our Fathers’ Footsteps is about four average men among the millions of people who volunteered to serve their countries during World War II. These men had one thing in common. They all landed on Normandy’s beaches on June 6, 1944. Using family history books, letters, telegrams, journals, and Regimental War Diaries, Don Levers tells the...

What was the experience like for the many members of the air operations leading up to D-Day? Today’s episode tells just part of the story of Flight Lieutenant David Murray Peden, who recounts his role as an RCAF bomber pilot preceding D-Day in the early hours of June 6th, 1944. We are excited that Witnesses to...