Victoria to Vimy First World War Collection

User Collection Public

Victoria to Vimy, sponsored by a World War Commemorations Community Fund grant from the Department of Canadian Heritage, is a digital collection of First World War materials held at the University of Victoria Libraries, Special Collections and Archives.

For this exhibit, the University of Victoria Libraries has selected a range of items that provide diverse perspectives on the lives of ordinary Canadians during the First World War. These materials tell the stories of soldiers—from enlisted men to high-ranking officers—as well as their friends and families. The site takes visitors on a journey from Victoria, where many young men enlisted and trained to sites across Canada, including, Vernon, British Columbia; Ottawa, Ontario; and Valcartier, Quebec—and then across the sea to England for training. Ultimately, many of these soldiers went to the Front in France and Belgium, where Canadians fought in several major battles, including the Battle for Vimy Ridge in April 1917.

The collection includes: letters, collections of letters, diaries, postcards, individual photographs, photograph albums, scrapbooks, war records, audio-oral histories, and artifacts.

 
Resource type Subject Genre Location

Parent Collections (1)

Works (170)

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Archie WIlls - My Life in the Army, Volume 01
Archie Wills - Fort Macaulay after a snowstorm photograph
Joseph B. Clearihue - group photograph at Parliament Buildings photographic postcard
Archie Wills - My Life in the Army, Volume 02
Keith Macgowan - Gertrude Rand, 1916 photograph
Keith Macgowan - Keith Macgowan in uniform, 1916 photograph
Destrubé family - Pen and ink sketch by Georges Destrubé, August 1916
F. L. and M. Barrow - F. L., Val, and May Barrow photograph
Archie Wills - My Life in the Army, Volume 03
Archie Wills - O' Pip Paper