I am a member of the War Amps Operation Legacy, which consists of members of the Child Amputee (CHAMP) Program who are dedicated to preserving and commemorating Canada’s military heritage by teaching younger generations about the importance of remembrance.
I would like to highlight a special effort that the War Amps is undertaking; the Newsreel of the Week Project.
These newsreels were filmed by the Canadian Army Film Unit during the Second World War to document the troops in training and on the front lines.
The front-line cameramen were soldiers first. In addition to camera instruction, they received infantry training and took guns into battle along with their heavy 35-millimetre movie cameras.
Putting their lives at risk, they captured footage of the battles and scooped the world on major events, including the invasion of Sicily and D-Day. Many civilians on the home front would have watched the newsreels in movie theatres during the war.
The public can view this extraordinary footage as the War Amps releases all 106 newsreels to the public, one week at a time. Or, for home viewing, you can order the six-DVD set at cost-recovery price at waramps.ca.
Kendra Blakely,
Operation Legacy member
