Military history

These digital collections feature military history materials held by UVic Libraries.

Canadian Military Oral History Collection

Digital audio files and transcripts from the University of Victoria Special Collections Canadian Military Oral History Collection. The collection is composed of interviews of veterans of WWI, WWII, the Korean War and the War in Afghanistan. Over 370 recordings done by Dr. Reginald H. Roy and his students are the largest holding in this category. Historian Hal Lawrence also donated over 180 recordings that he collected of Canadian Naval personnel.

JM's World War One Sketchbooks

These images are from two World War One sketchbooks signed only "J.M." containing watercolour and pen and ink images. J.M. was a British soldier based in France and Belgium between 1917 and 1918. The sketches range from caricatures to sombre images suggesting the horror and carnage experienced by those at the Front.

Victoria to Vimy: The First World War Collections at the University of Victoria Libraries

Victoria to Vimy, sponsored by a World War Commemorations Community Fund grant from the Department of Canadian Heritage, is a digital collection of First World War materials held at the University of Victoria Libraries. For this exhibit, the University of Victoria Libraries has selected a range of archival and historical items from our Special Collections and University Archives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada that provide diverse perspectives on the lives of ordinary Canadians during the First World War.

W.O.H. Dodds World War One Photographs and Scrapbook

Photographs and a scrapbook relating to the life and service of Brigadier General W.O.H. Dodds, CMG, DSO, in the Great War of 1914-1918 and extending to his death on 25 August 1934. Brigadier General Dodds joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1914 and was commanding officer of the 5th Canadian Division Artillery and served in France from 1917-1918.

World of Mary's Wedding Reminiscences of World War One

In 2008, Pacific Opera Victoria commissioned an opera from the play, Mary's Wedding. The opera made its world premiere in Victoria on November 10, 2011.

This collection consists of materials drawn from the extensive military history collections in Special Collections and University Archives and used in the exhibit and the accompanying website.

World War One Photographs and Journals

Photographs and journals selected primarily from the Archie H. Wills fonds.

Archie Wills (1892-1988) was born in Victoria, BC, served with the Canadian Forces Artillery in France during the First World War, and worked as a journalist for the Victoria Times and Daily Colonist newspapers both before and after his service.

World War One Photographs by J. A. Millar

This album of photographs, taken by J. A. Millar, contains scenes of the Canadian Expeditionary Force at Valcartier Camp, at Quebec, and at Gaspe Harbour immediately prior to sailing to Britain in 1914. Millar was a staff photographer of the Montreal Daily Star and produced the album in 1915.