Ukrainian Internment

My dad's discharge papers. Note the date of enlistment: 12th December, 1941. He was born in 1926 (which you can half see in the ripped part at the top below the word ARMY.) Do the math... he was 15. He lied about his age. On August 19, 1942, at 16 years old, he was at Dieppe. After that he was in North Africa and Italy. They found out, the age at the time of his discharge in 1945 on the form, 19, is correct.

#dailycolonist1915 #WWI - The news out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago:

In an effort to catch up to being exactly one hundred years ago, this update covers just over a month. There is a lot in this update even though I restricted myself to just one article per day.

#dailycolonist1915 #WWI - The news out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago. 

German savagery and terrorism, the anniversary of the British Empire declaring war, fall of Warsaw, American occupation of Haiti, and the creation of the Revelstoke internment camp. [I planned to cover more days in this installment, but the Internet Archive is down for maintenance today.]

#dailycolonist1915 - The news out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago.

A big update as I try to catch up, ending on the anniversary of the event the started the war.

#dailycolonist1915 - The news out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago.

No significant changes on any front this week. The news from the front is repetitive and it seems the editors are aware that. no matter how important the war may be, vague tales of a few yards gained here, a few yards lost there, aren't holding the public interest and so there are more stories of local interest. It is mostly stories of the Ukrainian internment (as it is now known) and the terrorist bombings in Windsor that caught my attention this week. The stories on the Ukrainian internment are especially relevant now because the new "Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act" (previously Bill C-24) that allows for the stripping of Canadian citizenship from people who hold or are eligible to hold a second citizenship makes what went on in the internments of WWI entirely possible again.

#dailycolonist1915 - News out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago.

The bulk of the war lurches on. The Anglo-French push in the Dardanelles continues, German and Austrian forces make a little headway in repelling the Russians in Galacia, all the other fronts are pretty much as they have been for weeks. The American and Germans are tediously talking about the angry letters already exchanged and threatening more stern diplomacy.All the interesting things are more local, the tangential and trivial oddness that has been forgotten, including things that echo some current things because forgotten history really does get repeated.

#dailycolonist1915 - The news out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago:

You'd almost think this week's news was a steampunk fanfic and not the actual news from 100 years ago. We've got submarine and Zeppelin pirates, a secret submarine base in Asia Minor, Zeppelins bombing London, the king's birthday, and earls being knighted. We also have the beginnings of forced labour in Canadian concentration camps and the Armenian Genocide in Turkey. But we wrap up the week with good news from Denmark.

#dailycolonist1915 - The news out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago:

News from Ypres continues to dominate the news this week, with Gallipoli taking second seat until another huge milestone of the war, the sinking of the R.M.S. Lusitania, takes place on the 7th, with the news reaching Victoria on the 8th. It seems the endless grim lists of casualties punctuated by the sinking of the Lusitania is too much for some, and anti-German riots break out in Victoria.

#dailycolonist1915 - The news out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago:

[A lot of what happens, or is about to happen this week one hundred years ago has been in the news in the present. The first major gas attack by the Germans at Ypres, which distinguishes the Canadians involved, happens. On the 25th is the attack on Gallipoli that is remembered as ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand happens. Of course the results of the battle won't be in the paper until next week, but the build-up is ominous—it's very clear the Empire knew they were throwing the colonials in the meat-grinder. Also not in the paper is the start of the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Empire. There is also a hint of the Arab Revolt that will eventually be led by T. E. Lawrence. A very interesting week...]

#dailycolonist1915 - The news out of Victoria, British Columbia, 100 years ago.

I've been busy with some other projects so while I try to keep things under a week at a time, this update covers 10 days. In general the war in Europe is unchanged on both fronts. The first Canadian contingent is in combat and there are stories from the front. A combined Anglo-French fleet is making its way up the Dardanelles toward Constantinople (Istanbul). The Mexican civil war is still going without any big news.

One article this week is particularly interesting from today's context: a story on an "Armed Secret Society of Foreigners" operating in Ontario.