Karl Wagar served in the Canadian Forces during the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Karl hails from the town of Deseronto, in Prince Edward County; he enlisted at the suggestion of a veteran he met at the local Legion, recalling that the decision set him on a better life path. He boarded that jet airplane […]
Archives: Oral History Project
McPhee, Jim
Jim McPhee served in the RCAF during the Second World War. Jim grew up in northern Ontario, not too far from the Sault; Jim came from a large family, and lived not too far from Bruce Mines . Jim remembers going to a one-room schoolhouse in his early years, as well as work on the […]
Allen, Gord
Gord Allen served in the Canadian Army during the Second World War. He was born October 2, 2022 and grew up in prewar Toronto, where he remembers the tough times of the Great Depression; Gord recalls his father being out of work, and he remembers that he and his friends used to bring food to […]
Cournelisson, Rene
Rene Cournelisson’s World War Two story is one we have not previously heard at Crestwood. Rene was born October 6, 1926 into a family of thirteen, and he grew up in prewar Holland, a nation that found itself occupied by Germany in 1940. Rene like so many Dutch chafed under the restrictions of occupation, and […]
Preston, Harry
Harry Preston served in the Canadian army during World War Two. He grew up in western Canada, in and around Winnipeg, where Harry and his family experienced the realities of the Depression. Harry kept himself busy though, and with friends, he got involved in the militia and the Sea Cadets, where he was able to […]
Field, Richard
Richard Field served in Canada’s 2nd Division during World War Two. He grew up in Toronto during the Depression years, where he was able to finish school and join the prewar militia and sea cadets, two organizations that would teach him many valuable lessons in the upcoming war years. When Richard moved into the regular […]
O’Rourke, Stephen
Dr. Stephen O’Rourke is the grandfather of Crestwood student Ella Lee-O’Rourke. Dr. O’Rourke originally hails from Ireland, where he grew up on a farm during the wartime years. Blessed with academic ability, his parents made sure he attended school, and Dr. O’Rourke’s education in both public and high school came courtesy of the Christian Brothers. […]
Pike, Herb
Herb Pike is a Canadian veteran of the Second World War, and a proud member of the 48th Highlanders. Born February 12, 1924, Herb grew up in prewar Toronto, where he remembers living a relatively good life, even against the backdrop of the Great Depression. When in Toronto, Herb attended Bowmore Road Public School, and […]
Smith, Russell
Russell Smith was born in 1919 in Toronto, and he grew up in Toronto during the interwar years. Russell remembers well the difficulties of those Great Depression years, especially as he grew up in a family of eleven children, and his single mother needed all the help she could get. The third eldest, Russell left […]
Hoffe, Lance
Major Lance Hoffe is a member of the current Canadian Forces, one who specializes in combat engineering. As such he performs a diverse array of duties, from base set up to IED disposal. He has been deployed overseas on a number of occasions, including three tours in Afghanistan, where he worked to provide crucial tactical […]
Bond, Levon
Major Levon Bond is a member of the current Canadian Forces, one who specializes in air force intelligence operations. He has been deployed overseas on a number of occasions, including in Haiti, where Canada provided disaster relief after the devastating earthquake. More recently, he was sent to Afghanistan and Qatar, where he worked to provide […]
Gibeau, Philippe
Major Philippe Gibeau is a member of the current Canadian Forces, one who specializes as an aerospace engineer. He has been deployed overseas on a number of occasions, including in Afghanistan and Kuwait, where he worked to provide support to coalition forces in their battles in the ongoing war on terror. In May of 2018, […]
Aldous, Amanda
Major Amanda Aldous is a member of the current Canadian Forces, one who specializes in logistics. She has been deployed overseas on a number of occasions, including in Afghanistan and Kuwait, where she worked to provide support to coalition forces in their battles in the ongoing war on terror. In May of 2018, Major Aldous […]
Kuti, Steve
Steve Kuti is a survivor of the Shoah from Budapest, Hungary, one with a remarkable story to tell. He remembers growing up in relative privilege; his parents did well and were accepted in the larger community. But with changes in Hungary’s wartime government, restrictions came into play, and Steve remembers his family being pushed to […]
Rosenberg, Nathan
Nathan Rosenberg is a survivor of the Second World War and the Shoah. While so many Jews were caught up in that terrible period of history, Nathan and his family were fortunate to escape, and what makes their story different is that they escaped to the east, into the heart of the USSR. When their […]
Kirk, Ron
Ron Kirk served in the Canadian Forces in the post-WW2 period, when Canada’s peacekeeping reputation was being established. Ron served in the navy, and he spent time in Korea during that nation’s 1950-53 war. Ron and his shipmates patrolled the Korean west coast, doing their part to counter North Korea’s efforts to export communism. He […]
Middleton, Bob
Originally from Toronto’s east end, Bob Middleton is a proud Canadian who served in the RCAF during the Second World War. Bob grew up in the Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto, and when he visited mr. Masters’ Grade 12 history class, he shared remarkable memories of what it was like to grow up in prewar Toronto. […]
Sanson, Bill
L Cdr Bill Sanson is a member of the present-day Canadian Forces, serving in the Canadian Navy, where he helps to respond to the many crises where intervention is necessary. As L Cdr Sanson notes, Canada is a maritime nation, and the nature of the interconnected maritime world makes the Canadian Navy very relevant, from […]
Gardner, Earl
Earl Gardner is a proud member of the Canadian Forces in the postwar era. He joined its ranks in the days of the Cold War, and he recalls the tensions of the Cuban Missile Crisis in particular, as well as the rebuilding that followed Hurricane Hazel in Toronto. Earl’s career covered many aspects of the […]
Warner, Joe
Joe Warner is a Canadian who joined the fighting in Israel in 1948 because he felt “it won’t be worth being a Jew elsewhere if Israel did not survive.” Joe had graduated high school in Toronto in the midst of WW2, and he had enlisted in the RCAF, and began training in different parts of […]
Horlock, Harvey
Harvey Horlock is a veteran of the Canadian Forces from the postwar years. He enlisted in the 1950s, with the memory of the sacrifice of his World War Two uncles fresh in his mind, and in that decade of service he helped in the clean-up after Hurricane Hazel, among other events. He has been heavily […]
Eichler, George
George Eichler was born in 1943 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. His mom grew up in Bratislava and his dad grew up in Eastern Slovakia. George grew up with a lot of anti-Semitism but he still attended school and had a decent childhood. George has 2 brothers, Gabriel and Viktor, and also has 1 sister, Naomi. George […]
Fan, Meng
Meng Fan was born in 1926 in Sumatra, Dutch East Indies, which now is Indonesia. Later he moved to Hong Kong. When war came, Hong Kong had to support in war efforts. However, Hong Kong was lacking resources such as food. Meng Fan volunteered to join the army. He started with training and was barely […]
Nesselroth, Peter
Peter Nesselroth was born in Berlin on March 1, 1935. When the situation for Jews worsened, his family moved to Belgium when he was almost 4 years old. After Kristallnacht, his parents just couldn’t reconcile staying in Germany any longer, so they moved to Brussels. During this time, Peter couldn’t go to school, so his […]
Li, Chun San
Li ChunShan is the grandfather of Crestwood student Tommy Li. He was born in in 1942 in Shenyang, China. He is the youngest of three siblings. He attended school before the age of 15 years old and also helped his parents on the farm. During the Great famine, he was working in a train station. […]
Preston, Joan
Joan Preston was born in London, England. She was a tap dancer since she was very little. Joan now is 94. During the war, she spent 5 and a half years in the WAAF, the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. This was from 1941-1946, during which time she worked for Bomber Command in England and Sri […]
Berkovitz, Helen
Helen Berkovitz was born in 1921 in Tacsava, Czechoslovakia. The eldest of three sisters, Helen lost both parents in Auschwitz and was interned with her sisters in Bergen-Belsen and Theresientadt. After liberation, Helen met her husband at a collection point for the camps near the Austrian border, and they went through the DP camp life together as […]
Elliott, Elaine
Elaine Elliott was born in Kingston, Jamaica in. She is the second oldest out of 4 children, her older sister and herself were born in Jamaica, while the younger two were born in England. She lived in Jamaica with her grandmother until she was 15 yrs old. Then her parents decided to move her and […]
Javasky, Ruth
Ruth Javasky was born in Poland in 1929. Her family owned a store prior to the war and people would throw stones through the windows when the store was closed. In 1942 her sister was taken away from her family. The rise of anti-Semitism was rough on her family as she was eventually taken away […]
Hoffer, Lou
Lou Hoffer was born in the northern province of Bukovina, Romania in a small town called Vijnitz. His exact date of birth is uncertain; however, it was around 1927. In 1939, the Russians and the Germans had invaded Poland making the neighbours to the north no longer under Polish rule but Russian. A year later […]