Transcripts of accounts and recollections of 15 Canadian veterans regarding their personal experiences and observations during their service with the FSSF, 1942-1944. The veterans are: Vernon J. Doucette, D.M. Lloyd Dunlop, Eugene Forward, Bert Hopkins, Joe T. Jamieson; Peter Kroll, William, Sam McGee, Paul Schoeler, Charlie Mann, John Rowe, Paul Schoeler, Peter Smith, Bill Story, Jim Summerside, and George Wright.
A veterans “quote list” organized by subject matter from our interview records documenting their personal experiences during their service with the FSSF, 1942-1944.
Two articles on the 1 CSSBN role and service with the FSSF, 1942-1944.
Consists of multi-media records that document the Battalion’s administrative activities with The Minister of National Defence; the Chief of Defence Staff; NDHQ staff, Ottawa; CMHQ staff, London, England; 6th Airborne Headquarters, Adlershot, England; Battalion and sub-unit airborne/parachute training in Canada; The U.S., Fort Benning, Georgia; Aldershot, England; Combat operations, D-Day jump, 6 June 1944 and subsequent operations in Normandy, France; Emergency deployment and operations in the Ardennes, “The Battle of the Bulge”, Belgium; Deployment and operations to Holland; the Rhine Jump, 22 March 1945; Advance into Germany and the race to Wismar; repatriation to Canada and the Battalion’s disbandment.
The 1 CSSBN personnel were selected, recruited, integrated and served in a new American Army unit. Together with their American counterparts they trained and fought as the First Special Service Force, (FSSF), “The Devil’s Brigade”, 1942-1944. Records and photographs document the 1 CSSBN personnel’s selection in Canada; training in various U.S. Army and Naval bases; Fort William Henry Harrison, Helena, Montana; Camp Bradford, Naval Operational Base, Norfolk, Virginia; Fort Ethan Allen, Burlington, Vermont; Camp Stoneman, California; Camp Patrick Henry, Norfolk, Virginia. Also documented are military operations in the Pacific Theatre - Aleutians Campaign; the Mediterranean Theater – Naples – Foggia Campaign; Rome-Arno Campaign; Southern France Campaign; the European Theatre – Franco-Italian Border; the disbandment of the FSSF and the disbandment of the 1 CSSBN.
Records document the Battalion’s daily activities.
Files in this series include materials accessed by Bergen through the Access to Information Act. In some instances records had already been released and in others Bergen was the first requester. See included correspondence from B.J. Petzinger, Coordinator, Access to Information and Privacy, at head of folders 1.1, 1.2, 1.12, 3.6, 4.11 and 5.1 for information related to Bergen’s requests.
Canada. Department of National DefenceMaterial in this series is predominantly photoduplicates sent to to Turner from the National Archives of Canada in response to his request for personal service records. See file 7 for details related to this request.
Consists of contents of album containing predominantly original photography created by Kenneth Grant during his time of naval service in WWII. Photographs were removed from original container for conservation purposes but order has been maintained. Some photographs have captioning on recto and/or verso. In instances where caption was on album page the writing has been transcribed by archivist onto verso of relevant photograph. The album captures Grant's personal and military life equally, recording domestic and tourist experiences as well as capturing details of life on board the ships Grant served on
Consists of two albums photographs, clippings, short items of correspondence, and ephemera related to Watson's time of service during WWI. Most of the items are captioned in white ink, presumably by Watson.