A City Goes to War

A new letter was just added to the archive. Read about Jack Davey's experinces in the second battle of Ypres. Thank you to the family of Jack Davey for sharing this document with the project. Read it here: http://acitygoestowar.ca//docum/military/prisoners-of-war/

It has been a great launch week for the website. We've been covered in the Times Colonist, the Victoria News, and on CTV. Listen to CFAX on Monday Nov 11 from 9am to 11 am to hear an interview with the team!

Check out this article about A City Goes to War from the Times Colonist.

On April 24, 1915, during the hard-fought Second Battle of Ypres, Arthur Corker became a prisoner of war - but he wasn't done fighting. During the three years he spent in German prison camps, he participated in many small acts of sabotage and mounted seven escape efforts. In this audio clip, Arthur describes how he and his fellow prisoners resisted their captors.

Chocolate - it's as staple as flour! Well, no, not really, but it was certainly a welcome treat for Victorians at home and at the Front. Chocolate was a common addition to the care packages sent to soldiers serving in Europe. From the Victoria Daily Times, August 25, 1914.

Our launch event will be taking place on November 4th! If you haven't already received an invitation and would like to attend, please message us for further information.

Saanich Archives is coordinating a community project to transcribe the Saanich pages from the 1911 and 1921 national census and are looking for volunteers to help. Working from images of the handwritten census returns, volunteers will enter the names and details of each person enumerated in Saanich in 1911 and 1921. An orientation session for volunteers will be held: Wednesday October 16th, 2013 at 10am at Saanich Archives (located inside the Saanich Centennial Library, next to Pearkes Recreation Centre). Space is limited. Please register by email at [email protected]. To learn more about this project visit our website: http://www.saanich.ca//artsher/saanicharchives/census.html

The Wilkinson Jail is 100 years old this month. It was built in 1913, and designed by the same architect as the Bay Street Armoury. Check out this great article about the jail from the Times Colonist.

We have just added some great new material from the BC Archives. Take a look at this high school entrance exam. How would you do?

For the teachers out there, view the teaching package for assignments that make use of the document archive and records of service database.

The first phase of the project is complete! View the website at http://acitygoestowar.ca/. We are working on a few technical issues before our official launch on November 4th, but have a look and let us know what you think. More information to follow on our launch event.