Historica Canada

Writings by Historica Canada President Anthony Wilson-Smith

After losing his sight during the First World War, Edwin A. Baker co-founded the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. His determination and resilience carried forward to other blinded Canadians, empowering them to live independently.

“I cannot talk. I can only paint.” Mary Riter Hamilton painted the battlefields after the First World War as a testament to its devastating cost. She would suffer mental and physical illnesses as a result of documenting the experiences of Canadian soldier

In this Memory Project video, two Merchant Navy veterans share their stories of crossing the Atlantic to deliver vital goods to the war effort and the long fight to get their proper recognition.