Canadian Battlefield Tours

Very nice testimonial from our first tour of the year- group of 21 students from the University of Guelph. I just wanted to thank YOU again for being so respons...ive to this group of young students and thoughtful in how you ensured that they were at least somewhat prepared for the information coming at them intensively throughout the day by supplying the notes ahead of time. They thoroughly enjoyed the trip and have learned a lot "to chew on", not least because you were willing to address many of the grey and dark areas of this war. I shall certainly pass Canadian Battlefield Tours and your name on to whoever leads the group in 2019 It is hard to imagine how the tour could have been improved. Warm regards, Marion Joppe, PhD Professor School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management Macdonald Stewart Hall, #306 University of Guelph | Guelph, ON N1G 2W1

[#Didyouknow] Montgomery's pets. During the Battle of Normandy, Field Marshal Montgomery, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Ground Forces at the start of Operati...on Overlord, was accompanied by his dogs baptized "Hitler" (left) and "Rommel". He also took care of canaries, visible in the background, at his headquarters in Creully (Calvados). Photo: IWM #DDay #WW2 #Normandy #History

Here is a photo of my old friend Jack Chapman. While planning my 75th Dieppe Anniversary tour, I talked with Jack's wife Madeleine, to see if she remembered the... name of Jack's tank. She said he always referred to it as 'HQ', indicating it was one of 3 Headquarter tanks. They were; Ringer, Regiment and Rounder, commanded by Capt. Aussie Stanton, Lt. Col. John Andrews, and Major John Begg, respectively. While Ringer and Regiment did leave the landing craft, only Ringer made it onto the beach. Stanton and his crew were captured. Regiment drowned in six feet of water and Andrews and his crew were killed. Rounder, meanwhile, remained on the landing craft. So, Jack's tank proper name, was Ringer. The main beach at Dieppe, over which the Churchill tanks of the Calgary Regiment were to land, was entirely composed of rounded and oblong chert rocks which range from one to six inches in diameter, and was resistant to cracking or breaking. Tidal action, leave most of these chert rocks eventually resting on the beach surface at an angle of about 15 to 20 degrees. With these rocks being many metres in depth, vehicles would not be able to dig down to a solid base for traction. If a tracked or wheeled vehicle tried to climb up this slope, it would immediately dig itself down, and in the case of tracked vehicles, the strain of these chert rocks caught up between the drive sprocket and track, would cause the pins that held the track links together, to break, thus immobilizing the tank. Originally, to alleviate the foreseen problem of these chert rocks, it was planned to have fourman teams of Royal Canadian Engineers, carried in each of the six Tank Landing Craft, that were scheduled to land in the first wave, who would run out ahead of the lead tanks, and roll out bundles of chespaling tracks. Chespaling was flexible roll fencing similar to wood slat snow fencing, but made with tough split slats made of chestnut. It was thought that by using chespaling, both wheeled and tracked vehicles would be able to get over the worst conditions of the chert rocks on the beach. Each of these bundles weighed approximately 250 pounds, were 25 feet long and could be wired together to form a continuous track, and could be moved around by the engineers to suit the later waves of incoming Tank Landing Craft. It was also found that chespaling enabled a tank to climb a 28-inch high wall. Cheers..Gary.

Fitting for International Women's day, that we look back at some incredible warriors who gave their lives in the service of their country. Cheers..Gary.

Impressive group of ladies. Cheers..Gary.

Well, 2020 has been a bust for Battlefield Tours, but 2021 & 2022 are shaping up nicely. Just booked a Battle of the Rhine tour for 3 guests, in May 2022. Their relative served with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles and was killed Feb. 16, 1945, just a week after the beginning of Op Veritable. He is buried in beautiful Groesbeek Canadian Cemetery, which is also the resting place for 2 of my relatives, killed in these same battles. https://canadianbattlefieldtours.ca/operation-veritable/

Remembering some of my family who served in WWI & WW2- My father Bdr. Charlie McKay M37873 H Trp. #2 gun 112th Bty 6LAA RCA CASF 2 Cd. Corps 21 AG- Uncle Sgt. N...ed Quinn DCM MM 1914 Star/Clasp MiD 3X (Old Contemptible)- Cousin Bdr. Frank McKay 4th LAA kIlled March 23, 1945,(Op Plunder) buried in Groesbeek- Aunt Bernice Long RCAF WD..Uncle Murray Wilde WWII. Warriors All. So proud of you all. Cheers...Gary. See more

This post nails it for me. I still can't believe that Drew Brees folded like a cheap suit and has formally apologized and submitted to this BLM and Antifa bullshit. He is now properly 'woke'. When I saw the NHL take a knee, that did it for me. No more pro sports for me. Done! Cheers..Gary.

76 Years ago today- My Father's 112th Bty. 6 LAA RCA, who became 1st Canadian Rocket Battery.These were deployed with terrifying effect. Fired first on Nov. 1, 1944 from Fort Frederik Hendrik (Breskens) on Flushing (Vlissingen). Even though all other units in the area had been warned of the terrible noise coming, a British Medium Regt. were immediately in front of the rockets and when the first were fired, there were many gunners looking for cover. Cheers....Gary.

Can't put much more talent on a stage than this. Cheers.Gary.

He was an ordinary man who did extraordinary things, but most Canadians don’t know his name. He landed on the beaches as part of the Normandy Invasion on June 6..., 1944. Later that day, he captured a German armoured vehicle by himself. He refused to be evacuated when he injured his left eye in combat. At the Battle of the Scheldt, he single-handedly captured 93 Germans after an entire garrison surrendered to him. He refused to be evacuated when an exploding landmine broke his back. In one night, he single-handedly liberated the Dutch town of Zwolle by forcing the enemy to retreat. He volunteered for service in the Korean War in 1950. He led his men to capture and defend Hill 355 for three days despite being vastly outnumbered. He is one of only three Canadians to be awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal in two separate wars. Some called him the Canadian Rambo. His name is Corporal Léo Major. Be a part of our #history: https://Forces.ca #ThrowbackThursday #ForcesJobs #CAF #Canada #TBT #Leadership #Motivation #Inspiration #LestWeForget #RememberThem #Legend #Courage #Hero

HaHa, just received this from a good friend..Cheers..Gary.

An Aussie's commentary about the current state of US politics.

This surely can't surprise anyone. Gutless little twat. Cheers..Gary.

This was shared by a British friend. I've made it a hard and fast policy to not comment on US or UK politics, and that will continue,but I couldn't pass up on sharing this. Worth noting that almost all the pundits here are die-hard liberals and any that are still alive and active today, are NOW die-hard Joe Biden fans. Go figure! A must watch. Cheers..Gary.

April 10, 1945- Liberated by the Canadians. Deventer is the hub for our Liberation of Holland tours. It is a short drive from Lochem, where we lived and ran a B&B for 7 years. My son Shawn lives in Deventer and owns a very successful Subway franchise. Cheers..Gary.

Vindication at last. I felt that I was alone when I turned on Kenney quite awhile ago. But, when Rick Bell, a very Kenney friendly journalist writes a column like this, it confirms that I'm not alone. I nicknamed Kenney, the 'Barker' (no bite) because, other than being noisy, there is no there there. Lost the fire in his belly. It's sad what 20 years in the Ottawa cesspool will do to a man. But, what really did it for me was his statement on Alberta separation, a few weeks ag...o. He said separation would never happen; that he was a patriot and that our differences with Ottawa, would be settled by dialogue, within confederation. By taking this stand, he has alienated thousands of his core base, and I believe this will come back to bite him in a big way. Dialogue with Trudeau, an avowed enemy of Alberta?? Really?? Time for the 'Barker' to re-assess his position and do as Bell has suggested- 'Look in the Mirror'. The really scary part though is- What's the alternative? Certainly NOT Notley and the NDP. Somebody suggested I have a look at a very high-powered group with an agenda on the future of Alberta. Have a look at the 'Buffalo Project'. Cheers...Gary.

Nothing more to add. Mr. Fatah has nailed it perfectly. Looks matter; appearances matter; demeanour(fire in the belly) matters; None of them should matter to the extent that they do, but in todays diminished and cheapened culture......THEY DO MATTER. We didn't get any of those attributes with Scheer and we damned sure won't with O'Toole. Tough days ahead for these clowns. Cheers...Gary.

I continue to be impressed with Ms. Corbella. All Albertans should read this excellent piece. Cheers..Gary.

A little background on barbaric halal or kosher slaughter. Cheers..Gary.

Maybe the most important advice you ever get. I adopted this advice many years ago, and follow it faithfully every day. If you can master this(and you can), your stress level will fall right to the floor and your general health will improve concurrently. Cheers..Gary.

Love this bit of history. My great grandfather 3x David Simpson fought in the War of 1812, after fighting in the Peninsular war, in Martinique and Guadeloupe in 1809-10. I think I may have 2 more relatives, on my mother's side, who also fought in the War of 1812, but haven't nailed that down yet. Cheers...Gary.