Curious Canadian History

David Borys
Podcast Curious Canadian History

Historian David Borys dives deep into the fascinating world of Canadian history in this bi-weekly podcast exploring everything from the wonderful to the weird to the downright dark. Get add free content at Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. S10E2 - Canadians in the Battle of Britain

    17 SEP

    S10E2 - Canadians in the Battle of Britain

    For 113 terrifying days in 1940, Nazi Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe, threw everything it had at Great Britain in hopes of early victory in World War II. The task of defending southern England from airborne attack fell to pilots in the Royal Air Force, supplemented in their darkest hour by more than 100 flyers from Canada. These Canadians, some from famous families, some straight off the farm, served in forty-seven different Battle of Britain squadrons. They fought bravely in the skies, risked their lives to defend Britain and participated in one of the most battles of the entire war. These Canadians were some of “the few” so many famously quoted by Winston Churchill. To talk to us today about this little known chapter in Canadian military history is author and historian Ted Barris. Ted Barris is an award-winning journalist, author, and broadcaster. His writing has regularly appeared in the national press, and magazines as diverse as Air Force, esprit de corps and Zoomer. He has also worked as host/contributor for most CBC Radio network programs, NPR in the U.S. and on TV Ontario. He taught journalism at Toronto’s Centennial College for 18 years. Ted is also the author of 22 books, many of them award winning publications. For instance, Ted’s 20th book, Battle of the Atlantic: Gauntlet to Victory was published in the fall of 2022 and immediately landed on the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star bestsellers lists. Following the book’s publication, Ted received word that he’d received Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Award, recognizing “extraordinary contributions to our community and Canada.” On Dec. 29, 2022, Rideau Hall announced its latest Honours list. Ted Barris learned he will be appointed Member of the Order of Canada, “for advancing our understanding of Canadian military history as an acclaimed historical author, journalist and broadcaster.” This week’s book recommendation is Ted’s 22nd book titled Battle of Britain: Canadian Airmen in Their Finest House, published in 2024 by Sutherland House Books.  Get add free content at Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    43 mnt
  2. Special Episode 3 - Punching Above Our Weight - Pre-purchase available now!!

    10 SEP

    Special Episode 3 - Punching Above Our Weight - Pre-purchase available now!!

    Our very own David Borys has a new book coming out in September titled “Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867” published by Dundurn Press. The book is an easy to read, single volume history of Canada at war since 1867. This photograph-rich volume covers nearly 150 years of the Canadian military, tracing its evolution from a small, underfunded, poorly trained militia to the modern, effective military it is today   The book will be released on September 24th in Canada and October 22nd in the United States.    As part of the pre-sale campaign CCH is dropping a series of short readings by David from sections of the book.  For today’s story we go back to the late 19th century where heated debates rage throughout Canada regarding the nation’s role in the broader British empire. Some believe that Canada can continue to rely on Britain’s military assistance like it has always done, others are arguing for significant improvements to Canada’s current small and underfunded force, while others are adamant that Canada begin sending young Canadians to go overseas to fight for the empire as Britain becomes more and more embroiled in putting out imperial fires across its vast empire.  You can pre-purchase a copy right now at the below links: Amazon Indigo Dundurn Goodreads Indiebookstores.ca Get add free content at Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    10 mnt
  3. S9E20 - Boosters and Barkers: Financing the First World War

    11 JUN

    S9E20 - Boosters and Barkers: Financing the First World War

    When the British government declared war on Germany in August of 1914, no one in Canada (who was automatically thrust into the conflict by Britain’s declaration) ever could have predicted the incredible contribution the country would make in manpower, material and money. By the end of that war 650,000 Canadian soldiers were in unform and Canada had one of the most powerful corps formations on the western front. But what people often don’t think about, is how did Canada find the cash to support such a significant contribution. And that question is the focus of the newest CCH episode. How did Canada figure out a financing system that supported an almost unbelievable contribution to the world’s first global industrial war? Who was in charge? How was the program carried out and what was the reaction of every day Canadian?  To answer these questions we have brought on David Roberts. David is a retired editor/historian at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography / Dictionnaire biographique du Canada. In addition to writing several articles for that publication, he is the author of In the Shadow of Detroit: Gordon M. McGregor, Ford of Canada, and Motoropolis (2006), published by Wayne State University in its Great Lakes Books series.  Mr Roberts lives in Don Mills, Ontario. Today’s book recommendation is David’s newest book Boosters and Barkers: Financing Canada's Involvement in the First World War published in 2023 by the University of British Columbia Press for the Canadian War Museum's Studies in Canadian Military History series. Get add free content at Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    42 mnt

Mengenai

Historian David Borys dives deep into the fascinating world of Canadian history in this bi-weekly podcast exploring everything from the wonderful to the weird to the downright dark. Get add free content at Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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