Guest speaker: Robert L. Baird

When: Thursday, May 21, 2015, from 19:30 to 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall,

              288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period.

Carrying on the current theme of military history, Robert Baird’s talk will be on military history during the summer of 1945 and t
he Canadian support in the preparation of the American invasion of Japan: “Operation Downfall”.

The American military were actively involved in elaborate preparations for the invasion of Japan and scheduled it in two phases, one starting on November 1st 1945, “Operation Olympic” and the second on March 1st 1946, “Operation Coronet”. The summer of 1945 was a fascinating period of military history, in which Robert Baird took part.

A resident of Beaconsfield since 1962, Robert was an active member of the Beaconsfield Planning Committee for over 14 years. He wrote and published the book “Beaconsfield and Beaurepaire” in conjunction with Gisèle Hall who did most of the research. He has a degree in Civil Engineering from McGill and a Master degree in history from Concordia University. Bob was a volunteer member of the Sixth Canadian Infantry Division in 1945.

How in 1914 Canada Went to War for a "Scrap of Paper"

Guest speaker: Jean-Pierre Raymond

When: Thursday, March 19, 2015, from 19:30 to 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall,

              288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

At the beginning of this event, the Société historique Beaurepaire-Beaconsfield will show a 7-minute video taken at the Heroes Park launching ceremony and at the Heroes Park inauguration ceremony, in recognition of the implication, in this project, of the Beaconsfield High School and especially of the students Cheyenne Skurczak and Devyn Sherry, BHS spokespersons. Certificates of recognition, accompanied by the Roberta-Angell 2015 Prize, will be presented to the school as well as to these two students.

Lecture in English, with French visuals, followed by a bilingual question period

Jean-Pierre Raymond, retired engineer, talks about many little known facts that explain how a series of human misjudgements occurred resulting in WWI. He explains the legal process which brought the United Kingdom and, consequently, Canada into the war and the motivations for each of the seven powers of the time. Starting with the end of the Napoleonic era, the chronology of catastrophic events is presented.

Guest speaker: Peter McBride

When: Thursday, February 19, 2015, from 19:30 to 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall,

              288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period

Life-long resident of Baie d’Urfé and Beaconsfield, Bob McBride enlisted in the RCAF in September 1940. Following completion of flight training in Canada, Bob went overseas in September 1941, winning promotion to Pilot Officer and Flying Officer in 1942, and to Flight Lieutenant in June 1944. He was shot down in a torpedo bombing mission over the Bay of Biscay on November 7, 1942, wounded and taken prisoner. As a POW, Bob resided in the Stalag Luft III and took part in what became known as “The Great Escape” on March 24, 1944. Recaptured at the tunnel’s mouth, Bob remained a prisoner until his release at the war’s end in 1945.

Peter McBride, one of Bob’s four children, has pieced his story together from various sources and will share it with us at our February meeting.

The first modern Code-talker: 

Elmer Jamieson and the Mohawks in the Great War

Guest speaker: Roy Wright16-Jan-15

When: Thursday, January 15, 2015, from 19:30 to 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall,

              288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period

You will discover how the Mohawk language became a talking secret code during WWI.

Derek Grout presents his new book on the Empress of Ireland.

The ill-fated liner Empress of Ireland sank in the Gulf of St Lawrence, in front of Sainte-Luce-sur-Mer, in a collision in 1914. The hundredth anniversary of the sinking is May 29 and the book's release in Canada is scheduled for early April, in advance of the anniversary.  Canada Post is supposed to be issuing two stamps to commemorate the event, and various museums across the country have scheduled special exhibitions, most notably the Canadian Museum of History (formerly Museum of Civilization) in Gatineau, across from Ottawa.

At this lecture, you will be able to buy the book RMS Empress of Ireland, Pride of the Canadian Pacific's Atlantic Fleet  by Derek Grout, at the price of $35.00.