Field of Crosses

8 hours ago

The 80th Anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic

The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous campaign of the Second World War, lasting from September 3, 1939, to May 8, 1945. It was a pivotal fight for control over Atlantic shipping routes. The Allies worked to keep vital supply lines open between North America and Europe, while German forces aimed to cut them off. Canada played a key role, contributing significantly through both its navy and air force.

At the war’s outset, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was small, with only a handful of ships and personnel. Recognizing the importance of the convoys, Canada rapidly expanded its navy. By war’s end, the RCN had become the third largest navy in the world, with over 400 vessels and 100,000 personnel.

Canadian warships escorted convoys across the North Atlantic, protecting them from German U-boats trying to disrupt the flow of troops and supplies. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) also flew aerial patrols to detect and deter U-boats, strengthening naval escorts.

The battle came at a high cost. The RCN lost 24 warships and about 2,000 sailors. Another 752 RCAF personnel and 1,100 Canadian merchant mariners lost their lives, with 58 merchant ships sunk.

Across all Allied forces, over 3,500 merchant vessels and 175 warships were sunk, claiming the lives of 36,200 naval personnel and 36,000 merchant mariners. On the German side, 783 U-boats were destroyed, with roughly 30,000 U-boat crew members killed.

By the war’s conclusion, Allied navies had escorted 25,343 merchant ships across the Atlantic.

Canada’s contributions helped secure control over crucial sea routes, ensuring a steady flow of supplies vital to Allied operations in Europe. The dedication and sacrifice of Canadian personnel in the Battle of the Atlantic remain a defining chapter in Canada’s military history.

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Field of Crosses

6 days ago

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫

May 5, 2025, will mark the 80th anniversary of the Netherlands' liberation from Nazi Germany's occupation during World War II. It also marks the end of the Dutch Hongerwinter (Hunger Winter), a severe famine imposed on the Dutch people by the German occupied forces, from September 1944 to April 1945.

As the Allied forces advanced through Europe following the failure of Operation Market Garden in September 1944, the Nazi-occupied western Netherlands remained isolated and vulnerable. In retaliation for a Dutch railway strike aimed at aiding the Allies, the German authorities imposed a blockade, cutting off food and fuel supplies to the densely populated provinces of North and South Holland, Utrecht, and parts of Gelderland.

The famine was exacerbated by the destruction of infrastructure, including bridges and railways, which hindered transportation and the delivery of vital supplies. Additionally, the exceptionally harsh winter of 1944–1945 froze canals and rivers, further restricting movement and isolating urban centers from rural food production. As a result, food supplies dwindled rapidly, and residents resorted to desperate measures to survive.

People scavenged for anything remotely edible, including tulip bulbs, sugar beets, and even sawdust mixed into so-called “famine bread.” Thousands of men, women, and children embarked on “hongertochten” (hunger treks), walking for miles to rural areas in search of food. Despite these efforts, malnutrition and starvation claimed an estimated 20,000 lives, with many more suffering long-term health effects due to severe deprivation.

In April 1945, it became clear Germany was losing the war; a truce was arranged to allow for food relief. Starting on April 29, the Allies initiated Operations Manna and Chowhound where RAF, RCAF and USAAF bombers were used to drop 74,485 tons of food supplies over occupied Dutch cites.

The official liberation of the western Netherlands occurred on May 5, 1945. The end of the Hongerwinter marked both the liberation of the Netherlands from Nazi occupation and the conclusion of one of the darkest chapters in the nation’s wartime history. However, the campaign had been costly, more than 7,600 Canadians lost their lives in the nine months it took to liberate the country. This sacrifice led to a lasting relationship between our two countries.

In gratitude for Canada’s crucial role in liberating the Netherlands, Princess Juliana presented Canada with 100,000 tulip bulbs. Since then, the tulip has become a symbol of friendship between our two nations. This enduing friendship is marked by the annual presentation of 20,000 tulip bulbs by the Dutch Royal Family to Canada.

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Field of Crosses

2 weeks ago

𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐅
Age: 24 – WO1 (P) RCAF
Date of Death: 05/03/1945

Alan Frederick Turner was born November 13, 1920, in Calgary, Alberta. He was the son of Frederick George and Elizabeth Amy Turner of Calgary. Alan attended Hillhurst School, Balmoral School and Western Canada High School studying electricity and motor mechanics. He was active in basketball and baseball and his hobby was in wireless telegraph. After his schooling Alan was employed with the Canadian National Railway Telegraph and later employed as a taxi and a bus driver.

Alan enlisted in Calgary on February 18, 1941, with the Royal Canadian Air Force, service number R/92602 and trained as a Wireless Air Gunner with the 22 Operational Training Unit. He flew with the Royal Air Force (RAF) 102 Squadron.

While on air operations his Halifax aircraft #W-7918 was shot down over Krefeld, Germany. Alan was reported missing January 27/28, 1943. He was captured on February 22, 1943, and became a Prisoner of War (POW), taken to the German Stalag Camp 344, located outside of the village of Lamsdorf in Southwestern Poland. His POW number was 27384. Camp 344 was comprised of POWs from all over Europe, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and Canada. Later in the war many American prisoners were housed there as well.

Alan Turner died of Dysentery while a Prisoner of War on March 5, 1945, he was 24 years old. The camp was liberated March 7, 1945, by advancing Allied Soviet forces.

Warrant Officer Class I (Pilot) Alan Frederick Turner has no known grave, his name is inscribed on the Runnymede Memorial in Surrey, United Kingdom.

Each year during the Eleven Days of Remembrance the Field of Crosses in Calgary, Alberta commemorates Warrant Officer Class I Alan Frederick Turner.

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Field of Crosses

1 month ago

On 17 December 1939, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Australia agreed to create the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) located in Canada, this plan’s mandate was to train Allied aircrews, including pilots, navigators, bomb aimers, wireless operators, air gunners and flight engineers.

Canada had the flat landscape, very good climate conditions for flying, access to American industry and close enough to Britian to ship men, materials, and planes. Operational Training Units (OTU) were set up in hundreds of communities across Canada. There were 107 schools, 184 ancillary units at 231 sites across Canada, their airfields were staffed and operated by 104,000 Canadians.

Through 1939-1945 more than 131,553 British and Commonwealth aircrew were trained in Canada as part of this Plan. 72,835 graduates joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. 42,110 graduates joined the Royal Air Force, (including 5,425 that came from occupied European countries, such as 2,600 Free French, 900 Czechoslovakians, 677 Norwegians, 448 Polish, 800 Belgian and Dutch aircrew).

The other Commonwealth country graduates included 9,606 Royal Australian Air Force, 7,002 Royal New Zealand Air Force, 5,296 Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm.

In addition, some 6,000 Americans graduated up until December 7, 1941. The Plan would also train approximately 42,500 ground crew tradesmen.

Aircraft built in Canada and utilized by the BCATP included Fleet Fawns, Fleet Finches, Fairchild Cornells, de Havilland Tiger Moths, Avro Ansons, North American Harvard, Bristol Bolingbroke, Noorduyn Norseman and Westland Lysanders.

As the second world war was winding down, the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was closed on March 31, 1945.

Each November the Field of Crosses in Calgary, Alberta commemorates the 1,074 servicemen and women of Southern Alberta who served with Royal Canadian Air Force (1,010), Royal Air Force (61) and the RCAF Women’s Division (3).

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Field of Crosses

1 month ago

The Battle of the Rhineland began on February 8th, 1945 after three months of meticulous planning by the Allied forces. This battle was preceded by air and artillery attacks from the Allies in preparation for troop mobilization.

The Battle of the Rhineland was also known as Operation Veritable, and was led by Canadian General Henry Duncan Graham Crerar. The goal of the advance was to drive the enemy back over the Rhine River and into German territory. The First Canadian Army began their advance at the Nijmegen Salient in an attempt to clear the corridor between the Rhine and the Maas Rivers. For the operation to be considered a success, the Canadians needed to clear the Reichswald Forest, clear the defences along the Rhine River, and break the Siegfried Line, which was an elaborate series of bunkers, tank encampments, and trenches along the German border. Through the rain and mud, the Canadian forces advanced beyond the German lines, and by the 21st of February, they had broken through the Siegfried Line.

Once through the Siegfried line, the Canadian First Army was faced with the difficult challenge of defeating the German defences along the Hochwald Forest. The 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions and the 4th Armoured Division assault against these positions began on February 26th. In the beginning, slight gains were made, but the weather made it difficult to progress. On March 4th, 1945, after 6 days of intense fighting, the Canadians cleared the German forces from the forest. The victory at the Battle of the Rhineland was crucial because Canadians had helped to defeat the last major line of German defence.

Throughout the month of fighting the Canadian First Army had 15,634 casualties.

Each November during the Eleven Days of Remembrance, the Field of Crosses in Calgary, Alberta commemorate the Army and Air Force servicemen who lost their lives during the campaign.

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