Peace and War in the 20th Century
Random Highlights
The invitation to “join the Navy and see the world” certainly fulfilled its promise for young Englishman Charles Jones. Only sixteen when he joined the service, Jones was a Gunner’s Mate on the battleship Marlborough during one of the most dramatic and destructive sea battles of the First World War.
The entry of Japan into the Second World War precipitated an immediate punitive reaction in North America which extended to Canadians of Japanese descent. The Cooperative Committee on Japanese Canadians tried to assist as the homes and businesses of Canadian citizens were confiscated and families torn apart.
“When you get back to England, say hello to the Queen for me. I used to work for her father.” This was William Frank Kenwood’s standard salutation in his later years whenever he would encounter anyone from the British Isles. It was one of the few references he would make about his time as an R.A.F. airman or to the two and half years he spent as a German prisoner of war.
