Educational Speakers

OUR GOAL

Educational Speakers is an initiative to increase public awareness among Canadian youth to the contributions made by Canada, Canadians, the Royal Canadian Navy and HMCS Haida in WW II,  the Korean War and the Cold War.

The cost of our visit is paid for by our sponsors and offered absolutely free of charge to schools, school boards and students. Our visits focus on three primary areas:

1.  A brief discussion of pre-WW II economic conditions in Canada prior to 1939.

2. The Declaration of War, the Battles of the Atlantic and St. Lawrence;  Britain and Canada
 go it alone initially with no USA participation.

3. The impact WW II had on Canadians in general and  why WW II differed from the Korean War and the Cold War for most Canadians. Focus will be on Canada's total wartime commitment, such as
wartime rationing, military production of arms/ammunition, delivery of war material and personnel to Britain.

4.  Canada's most important contributions to winning WW II:

     - Battle of the Atlantic - 1 million tons per week shipped to Britain by convoy.
     - Manufacturing of goods including  weapons, ammunition, tanks, ships and aircraft.
     - Personnel training.
     - Steel manufacturing in Hamilton.
     - Wartime rationing of certain foods and metals (ie steel, iron, aluminum) at home.

The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest lasting battle. Prime Minister Winston Churchill considered it "the most important battle of the war" and was  the dominating factor all through the war. We will discuss Canada's role in this battle and the lesser known Battle of the St. Lawrence.

Britain required more than a million tons of imported food and materiel per week in order to be able to survive and fight on against her enemies. In essence, the Battle of the Atlantic was the struggle to maintain the shipping lanes that enabled Britain and later Russia, to survive. Our presentation will discuss convoys, Canada's Navy and the Merchant Navy's roles in North Atlantic convoys

5.  Why HMCS Haida and HMCS Athabaskan are often mentioned together.
Ref: http://www.jproc.ca/cta/athab1.html

6. The role of Canada, Canadians, the Royal Canadian Navy and HMCS Haida in the Korean War.
Includes an understanding of the origins of the conflict, the participants and Canada's contributions.

7. The role of the RCN and HMCS Haida in the Cold War Cuban Missile Crisis and naval blockade.

8. Bringing HMCS Haida to Toronto and later to Hamilton.

9. Why HMCS Haida is an important Canadian 'National Historic Site'.

Each visit lasts approximately 1 hour and is supported by brief film clips and a Powerpoint presentation.  In addition, any veterans doing the presentation will relate some of their personal experiences.

Please call today to book a speaker : 905-523-0682

Friends of HMCS HAIDA
658 Catharine St. N.,
Hamilton, ON L8L 4V7
e-mail: hmcshaida@bellnet.ca

Friends of HMCS Haida is a Canadian Registered Charity.
Revenue Canada Business Number 14077 3649 RR0001

OUR SPONSORS

Canada Steamship Lines Inc.
DOFASCO Inc.
Audrey S. Hellyer Charitable Foundation,
Metro Toronto Police War Veterans Association

SOME SCHOOLS WE HAVE VISITED (As of Dec 2005)

BURLINGTON:

- Sacred Heart School **

HAMILTON and vicinity:

- Ancaster H.S.
- Parkside S.S. **
- Saltfleet H.S.     **
- Sherwood S.S.
- Sir John A Macdonald (2 presentations)**
- Sir Winston Churchill S.S.
- Westdale S.S.
- Waterdown H.S., (3 presentations)**

TORONTO:

- Northwood Heights H.S.
- Sir William Lyon Mackenzie S.S.
- St. Joseph’s C. I.
 

School Visit Testimonial

PAST and PRESENT PARTICIPANTS

Friends of HAIDA - Robert Willson, Rev. Canon Bill Thomas, Bill Green
Parks Canada - Carla Morse and Katherine Stankovich
Various veteran organizations - Andy Barber, Bill & Vi Connolly, Mike Vencel, Jack Laurie,
 Margaret Haliburton, Tom Somers, Hoojung Jones, Jack Reid.

** Invited to return for Spring Semester repeat presentation(s).
 
 

PRESS RELEASE

FRIENDS OF HMCS HAIDA 658 CATHARINE ST. N. Hamilton, ON L8L 4V7 Revenue Canada Business Number 14077 3649 RR0001 hmcshaida@bellnet.ca     ·     905-523-0682 PRESS RELEASE: Each year as the poppies begin to bloom on street corners across Ontario, our ever diminishing supply of World War 2 and Korean War Veterans are called upon by public, separate and private schools to tell their personal, and often heroic stories of life in this country's Armed Services in the last century. And not without good reason.  Our High School textbooks have been sanitized to such an extent that they make no reference to the "Battle of the Atlantic" waged by The Royal Canadian Navy, Canada's Merchant Navy and  Britain's Royal Navy to keep the flow of food, trucks, tanks, ammunition and supplies-vital to Britain's (and later, Russia's) survival against the Nazi threat. Sir Winston Churchill said: "Of all the Battles of the War, the Battle of the Atlantic caused me the most concern-if we had lost it we'd have lost the War!" Canada's Royal Canadian Navy and Merchant Navy struggled on alone for over two years from 1939-1942 keeping Britain supplied with over 1 Million Tons of precious cargo every week from our East Coast ports-yet in current History textbooks, it is as though it never happened!. Hamilton’s steel mills produced at full capacity to produce the raw material for much of this Cargo-yet the City is not even mentioned in these textbooks! And the “Battle of the St. Laurence” (the only instance since 1812 in which Canadian territory has been attacked by a foreign power) is not mentioned at all! A single paragraph is employed to describe the Canadian participation in the long, bloody struggle! There is no background on the conflict, no explanation where these valiant Canadians fought and died or why, or even the impact their sacrifices may have had upon the Korean people and their now vibrant economy & democracy of to-day. In Ontario High Schools-Grade 10 History is a compulsory subject.Due to the large numbers of students in many of our High Schools, however, History is taught in two semesters- one in the Fall and one in the Spring. So, fully 50% of these Grade 10 History students do not receive any personal insight or relating of experiences from our World War 2 and Korean War Veterans! FRIENDS OF HMCS HAIDA, A Canadian Registered charity in Hamilton is working to bridge this information gap!  With financial support from DOFASCO INC; Canada Steamship Lines, Inc.;  the Metropolitan Toronto Police War Veterans Association; and the Audrey S Hellyer Charitable Foundation,  Friends of HMCS Haida has created the  “Educational Speakers" program which brings these and countless other stories of Canadian experiences and sacrifices in the Wars of the last Century to High School Students across Ontario in this Century. These one hour long presentations include a study of Canadian, the Royal Canadian Navy and HMCS Haida’s  contributions in the last century using slide and archival film footage and, most importantly, Veteran Volunteer participation. To learn how you can help in bringing these very important messages to a High School near you, please call Friends of HMCS Haida: 1-905-523-0682 or e-mail: hmcshaida@bellnet.ca

Apr 26/10