Our April 26th programme was The History of Canadian Broadcasting. The guest speaker was Kealy Wilkinson, Executive Director of the Canadian Broadcast Museum Foundation. The programme begin with a background on the development of broadcasting in Canada in the 20th century. She mentioned that Canada’s first radio station was CFCF in Montreal in 1920; that Lorne Greene read the CBC news during the WWII and that the very popular Happy Gang radio show was broadcast on CBC radio. Canada’s first 2 television stations in Toronto and Montreal went on the air in 1952.
She mentioned that Canada is the only developed country with no preservation society and that of all the programming produced by the CBC between 1936 and 1984, only 16% was preserved. The National Broadcast Collection for Canada does have over 100,000 items. A recent addition was 50 years of material from CHUM radio.
The Scarborough Historical Society hosts programmes on the 4th Tuesday of each month from January to April and from September to November. All programmes begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Bendale Public Library and are free and open to the public.

The guest speaker for our programme on March 22nd  was Scott Woodland of the Scarborough Historical Society.  Scott introduced his program this way. “The First World War witnessed unprecedented casualties which often overloaded the army’s medical system. However, while there were many aspects of medical care that seem only marginally better than those available during the Napoleonic Wars or the Victorian era,  incredible gains were made in the care of soldiers and the treatment of wounds. As technological advances developed new ways of inflicting injuries on combatants, the doctors and scientists responded with ever improving medical procedures that helped to save lives. The presentation looks at the role medical officers had in keeping soldiers healthy and fit as well as what happened when a soldier became a casualty by tracking his progress through the army’s medical system from when he was hit, to evacuation from the battlefield and treatment in hospital.”

Nothing prepared Canadian troops for the conditions confronting them while in the trenches. They did offer a refuge from machine guns and artillery. However, the trenches were little more than mud ditches crawling with disease, rats, lice, poor sanitation, and often the bodies of fallen comrades. The persistent cold and dampness from prolonged periods standing in water-logged troughs gave way to trench foot, which risked leading to gangrene and amputation.

The troops were issued with improved gas masks and the brodie helmet was introduced that helped against artillery shells.

Front line medical officers treated many casualties but, often overwhelmed by sheer numbers, they quickly transported many of the wounded to field ambulances, located as close as safety allowed to the front lines.  The ambulances took the wounded to dressing stations and those with mild cases were given treatment and rest. When fit, the men were returned to duty. Ambulances also took the severely wounded  to casualty clearing stations. Surgery could be performed at any of the medical units, depending on the patient’s need for immediate or deferred care. Following an initial recovery from surgery, patients could proceed to stationary and general hospitals in France and England for long-term care. By 1918, the Canadian Army Medical Corps operated 16 general hospitals, ten stationary hospitals, and four casualty clearing stations. There was a 94% survival rate if a soldier got to a doctor.

The Scarborough Historical Society hosts programmes on the 4th Tuesday of each month from January to April and from September to November. All programmes begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Bendale Public Library and are free and open to the public.

Trench-bound Canadian soldiers

Canadians bringing wounded comrades to the Field Dressing Station, Vimy Ridge, April 1917

On February 23^rd the guest speaker at our Programme was Jason Ramsay-Brown. His book covers all of Toronto but many of Scarborough’s parks and ravines are written about. He pointed out that these ravines are open air museums to our natural heritage and local history. Many are not well marked with signs and may even be hidden.

He spoke about the Doris McCarthy Trail “Gates Gully” in the Scarborough Bluffs area, which was a smugglers haven in the 1830’s for many items including tea, tobacco and leather.

Gates Gully

One of his favourite parks is the “L’Amoreaux Park North Passmore Forest” and its 600-year-old Alexandra aboriginal site where 800 Huron-Wendat people lived. It is located north off of McNicoll Ave. east of Birchmount Rd.

L’Amoreaux Park

He summed his talk up by saying that the easiest and best way to protect these natural history areas is that you should try to stay on the trails when using these parks and ravines.

The Scarborough Historical Society hosts programmes on the 4th Tuesday of each month from January to April and from September to November. All programmes begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Bendale Public Library and are free and open to the public.

The guest speaker at our January 26th programme was Terry Reardon. He spoke about his book “Winston Churchill and Mackenzie King – So Similar, So Different”. Churchill was a strong voice in Britain prior to the WWII and did not support British Prime Minister Chamberlain’s policy of “appeasement and containment” towards Nazi Germany. When Churchill became British Prime Minister in 1940 he became the world’s most important symbolic figure of resistance. Churchill had a charismatic personality and put in hours of work making his speeches flawless to encourage a desperate nation.  King and many other world leaders supported Chamberlain’s policy. However, in 1936 he had Canada begin a program of rearmament. King lacked the oratorical skills of Churchill but in 1937 he made it known to British leaders that Canada would support the Empire in a war in Europe. Once the war began, King had Canada supply food, munitions and money to the hard-pressed British economy, train airmen and provide combat troops. He also applied pressure to bring the U.S. into the war.  Political views in both countries had changed after the war.  Churchill lost the 1945 election while King retired from politics in 1948. It was a good history lesson for all in attendance.

The Scarborough Historical Society hosts programmes on the 4th Tuesday of each month from January to April and from September to November. All programmes begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Bendale Public Library and are free and open to the public.