WW II postcard campaign reminds Canadian homeowners that fallen 'lived where you live'

Keith Doucette · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 25, 2025 9:23 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Over the past week, selected homes crossed Canada received poignant reminders of subject members who fought and died successful the last months of the Second World War.

Each code was mailed a postcard with the name, communicative and destiny of an idiosyncratic soldier, sailor oregon airman who had lived determination anterior to enlisting successful Canada's warfare effort.

As portion of its "He Lived Where You Live" program, the Juno Beach Centre — Canada's warfare memorial depository successful Normandy, France — issued postcards to 1,945 addresses to commemorate the 80th day of Victory successful Europe Day connected May 8, 1945.

At their Toronto home, Gary Domski and his household precocious received a postcard commemorating Pte. Peter Forbes Flett, a subordinate of the Highland Light Infantry of Canada who died connected Nov. 2, 1944, astatine the property of 20  — two days aft helium was wounded warring successful the Netherlands. Flett is buried astatine the Adegem Canadian War Cemetery successful Belgium.

Domski said successful an interrogation Thursday that helium was already acquainted with Flett's communicative anterior to receiving the postcard due to the fact that of a missive that had been dropped disconnected by 1 of the precocious soldier's relatives. It elaborate the family's past astatine the residence, which Domski bought astir 10 years ago.

'It's a large happening to unify the country'

He said helium tries to marque definite his 3 children are alert of Canadian history, adding that getting the postcard "connects you personally to the lawsuit and to the sacrifice."

"It decidedly brings a antithetic position to idiosyncratic that mislaid their life, and being a genitor with a lad it benignant of hits you," Domski said. "This (card) is simply a large reminder ... and I deliberation it's a large happening to unify the country."

Sal Falk, a spokesperson for the Juno Beach Centre Association, said the purpose is to wage tribute to Canada's warfare fallen, portion making definite that communities tin link with the idiosyncratic stories and the wide past of the war.

"It's a pivotal infinitesimal successful Canada arsenic we each cognize with a heightened consciousness of pridefulness and trying to fig retired our identity," said Falk.

"I deliberation this is simply a portion of Canadian past that everyone tin rally behind, knowing that radical who served from crossed the state ... came from each locomotion of life, each neighbourhood and each community."

Over the past 2 years the centre conducted probe utilizing digitized files from Library and Archives Canada arsenic good arsenic the archives of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to stitchery accusation astir work unit arsenic good arsenic their past known addresses successful Canada.

1,945 work unit honoured

The information was cross-referenced with Canada Post records to corroborate that the addresses for the 1,945 work unit chosen to beryllium honoured — who died betwixt July 1944 and May 1945 -- inactive exist.

"We cognize the fig seems somewhat arbitrary, but we figured that with the symbolic (year) fig of 1945, choosing 1,945 postcards to nonstop felt similar the close thing," said Falk.

Another postcard was sent to an code successful New Glasgow, N.S., wherever Cpl. Gerald Austin Ellis lived. A autochthonal of Digby, N.S., Ellis was a machinist astatine the adjacent Trenton Industries alloy works anterior to enlisting successful the service successful February 1944.

Ellis landed successful Europe successful September 1944 and fought successful the Netherlands wherever helium was killed successful enactment connected Feb. 27, 1945. He is buried successful the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery and is 1 of much than 45,000 Canadians who died successful the warfare -- with astir 14,000 killed successful Europe during the conflict's last months.

After the carnage of the Allied breakout from Normandy inAugust 1944, the Canadian Army took portion successful the pursuit of German forces done France and into Belgium earlier liberating the Netherlands and striking into Germany.

'The effect was overwhelming'

Falk said the centre's latest postcard run is its third; the thought was initially conceived to people the 75th day of D-Day successful 2019, with astir 200 postcards being mailed. A akin run was utilized successful 2022 to commemorate the 80th day of the Dieppe Raid.

"We recovered that the effect was overwhelming," said Falk, who added that the run helps the D-Day depository astatine Juno Beach successful France scope Canadians astatine home.

"There is simply a pilgrimage spot for Canadians to spell implicit and larn more, but we cognize that not everyone tin marque that trip," said Falk.

"So this helps marque definite that past gets into the homes of Canadians."