From Oblivion to Triumph

The homepage for the Canadian letters and images project. It shows soldiers posing for a photograph and there is a search bar in the centre. In the about section below, which cannot be seen in this image, it provides this information: The Canadian Letters and Images Project, created in 2000, is an online digital archive of the Canadian war experience, both home front and battlefront, from any conflict in which Canadians have participated. The focus of the project is on the personal materials of participants, such as letters and photographs, which permit us to experience the war through their eyes and their words. These are very often the stories of ordinary Canadians, largely forgotten and overlooked. Our mission is to digitally preserve and continue to make freely accessible this important part of Canada’s heritage for this generation and future generations. The vision of the project is to continue to expand this repository of Canadian archival materials by collaborating with Canadians to preserve and share the individual and collective stories that have shaped our past Accessibility to the past is key to understanding who we are as a nation. We are committed to free access for everyone to the materials of the project.

PLEASE REPOST 🥺🙏

The Canadian Letters & Images Project is an online digital archive of Canadians’ experience during wartime at home & in battle. It contains thousands of personal letters & photos that reveal people’s experience through their own words & eyes.
www.canadianletters.ca/content/abou...

Hello. Some of you may have been on the WHW livestream last night and heard Al talking about our podcast @newsofthewar.bsky.social

We try not to hang off others coattails but, well they brought it up! (we’re overwhelmed by the kindness)
Interested? here’s the link

linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar

At war's end, one role for #Force136 was assisting with the liberation of #POWs before their potential massacre by the #Japanese. Five Chinese #Canadians on Operation Hippo in Borneo were tasked with freeing prisoners at Batu Lintang Camp in #Kuching.

If in Chrome, doing a right-click on a photo & using Google Lens to search can turn up answers/clues. Info on the photo can be found at www.pegasusarchive.org/pow/Rangoon/... .

#Reviews are in for "Superspy", a biography highlighting the life of intelligence officer Dane Hans Tofte.

💻️: https://tinyurl.com/3mcfbyn8

#militaryhistory #danehanstofte #intelligenceofficer

Chinese Nationalist Military Police manning an improvised roadblock in Shanghai's Zhabei district during January 28 Incident fighting with the Japanese. (courtesy Hinode Shimbun (日出新聞) via Wikipedia)

A map by Su Chia-jung showing Japanese-Chinese warfare in Shanghai on 24 February 1932 during the January 28 Incident (courtesy Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center, Boston Public Library)

#OTD in 1932, fighting breaks out in #Shanghai between the #Chinese 19th Route Army and #Japanese marines. Known as the January 28 Incident or the Shanghai Incident, this was the first example of modern urban warfare fought between two heavily-equipped armies. A ceasefire was signed on May 5.

#Liverpool #Chinatown #diaspora

"Eighty years after Liverpool's Chinese seamen were rounded up and forcibly deported, their families are still searching for answers." via Wesley Holmes Liverpool Echo reporter

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpo...

Congratulations to Valerie Cranmer for the acceptance of her PhD dissertation on the infamous 防疫給水部, “Enabling abuse: the Imperial Japanese Army’s epidemic prevention and water purification organisation and its place in global military history” research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/handle/10023...

#OTD On Jan 23, 1942, Dutch B-10 bombers damaged and sank Japanese transports off Balikpapan. Early on Jan 24, US Navy destroyers John D. Ford, Parrott, Pope, and Paul Jones attacked the anchored invasion force and sank several more ships
#WWII #pacificwar #history #navyhistory

[January 23rd, 1946] A famous Maori battalion was welcomed home to Wellington with a massive traditional feast prepared using Haangi. Following official greetings and rituals, the warriors performed a ceremony to lift their war tapu and return to civilian life.

A Chinese defensive position across the Lugou Bridge (卢沟桥) on the Yongding River (永定河) during the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in July 1937. This skirmish with the Japanese resulted in the outbreak of open warfare, considered the start of World War II in Asia. (courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Tracing this global conflict back to the start of ongoing hostilities that lead to this point, one must begin with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 7 July 1937. War broke out between #China and #Japan in #Beijing which would involve British, Soviet, and US support for the Nationalist Chinese.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt signing the Lend-Lease Bill (H.R.1776) on 11 March 1941. (courtesy New York World-Telegram and Sun collection at the Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons)

#OTD in 1941, Franklin D. #Roosevelt wrote to Ambassador Joseph C. Grew in response to his inquiry about #US policy toward #Japan: “I believe that the fundamental proposition that we must recognize is that hostilities in Europe, in Africa, and in Asia are all parts of a single world conflict.”

Was it the "British-Indian Army"? Rob and Jack tackle this common historical bugbear. Legally & practically, there was a British Army and an Indian Army—two separate forces with distinct but related identities. We explore how these roles shaped the path to independence #history #MilitaryHistory #ww2

By 1945, nearly 50% of officers in the Indian Army were Indian, up from just 19% at the war’s start. We discuss this massive shift in leadership and how the Second World War served as a watershed moment for Indian nationhood and the professional officer class. #Leadership #HistoryPodcast #India

Out now! Series 3 Episode 1 takes you into the cockpits of the AVG, RAF, and CNAC. We delve into the fierce battles to protect the Burma Road and the iconic shark-nosed P-40s that defined the 1942 air war. #Podcast #WW2 #Aviation

Another top pod from Jack and Rob. A couple of book recommendations. The air war in SEAC gets mentioned in these books. In passing I have to say I am surprised that Kite’s books don’t get more attention. #histbookchat

The cool vibe of the Flying Tigers was sometimes described as looking like they’d strayed onto a movie set. With cigars, Cokes, and Colt .45s, these privateers brought a unique brand of Americana to the Burma campaign. #FlyingTigers #WWII #History

From Oblivion to Triumph - How Two Vancouverites Meeting in Free China Changed Canadian History YouTube video by WW2TV

With the average person watching that AI-generated video, how many of them would accept all that they saw & heard as fact? Compare this with the 'From Oblivion to Triumph' presentation on #WW2TV at www.youtube.com/live/dEebnwD... to better understand its problems.

YouTube video by Forgotten soldiers Canada’s Shadow Warriors | The Untold Story of Force 136

History can be a politically-charged battleground over the question of what really happened. Now with AI, the potential for dis/misinformation is much greater. This AI-generated video about #Force136 is problematic for its inaccuracies, especially the visuals: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O41....

Book cover of "1945: The Reckoning" by Phil Craig.

"1945: The Reckoning" by @philmcraig.bsky.social speaks to the global context of #Force136 and the making of modern Canada. The effort to achieve respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, happened at both national & international levels. See Phil on #WW2TV at www.youtube.com/live/OIvLXg6...

The wait is over! Series 3 Episode 1 is now live. Jack and Rob explore the origins of the Indian Army, moving from its role as an "Imperial Reserve" to becoming the largest volunteer force in history with over 2 million men. Tune in to the foundation of the war in the East. #NewEpisode #IndianArmy

Proper-map, this. Smashing bit of WW2 manga. Best aside is in the footnotes: “Japan has decided to resolve the China incident quickly without paying attention to the European war.” 👀

A signature style in WW2 infographic propaganda mapping: originally an architect, Robert M Chapin Jr. was a pioneer, setting a standard for style that others envied - he led Time magazine’s map dept for 33 years.

Jungle Commandos Drawing on unpublished first-hand accounts, this is a gripping history of the experiences of the Commandos and their unsung allies in one of the bloodiest battl…

I've just finished reading @lmbd1418.bsky.social 's excellent Jungle Commandos (www.ospreypublishing.com/uk/jungle-co...) - it's an excellent read, very well-researched, accessibly written, and does a good job of placing the events in the broader context of the Burma campaign. (1/3)

Looks like the offspring of B-17 with a B-24.

bsky.app/profile/jami...

Can be disconcerting without a firm path forward. Best wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2026, Brad. Should it come to pass that you need an editor...

The introduction of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator to #SEAC in late 1944 was important for supplying #Force136 teams in #Malaya. The only other aircraft capable of the 3,200km roundtrip flight from India was the Consolidated PBY Catalina, but it lacked in payload and overall airlift capacity.

This Chinese American Aviatrix Overcame Racism to Fly for the U.S. During World War II A second-generation immigrant, Hazel Ying Lee was the first Chinese American woman to receive her pilot's license

Indeed...
www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this...

For those wanting to understand Japanese revisionist expansionism that ultimately resulted in decolonisation in Asia, these periodicals provide an interesting perspective...