Members of the public are invited to identify or furnish photographs or additional information on family members who were affiliated with McGill University and who participated in the war effort.
It is hoped, as in the case of William J. Allison that additional documents will be contributed by members of the public in order to create a more complete picture of the McGill's involvement in WWII.
The purpose of the McGill Remembers website is to document the McGill community's contributions to the war effort, to commemorate the activities of these individuals, and to draw attention to the rich collection of archival resources recording McGill's war effort that are housed in the McGill University Archives (MUA).
The McGill Remembers project, headed by Professor Christopher Milligan of McGill University's Faculty of Education and Wes Cross of the Dean of Students Office, commenced in April 2005 to coincide with Canada's Year of the Veteran Activities. The first phase of the project consisted of the creation of a website commemorating McGill University's WWII participants, of which 5, 568 were McGill students, including 295 women, as well as numerous staff members. In total, 298 individuals were killed in action, 52 became prisoners of war, and 629 were awarded medals.
The McGill University Archives contains the individual records of these over 5,000 McGill students and staff, which were originally uncovered and organized by Robert Collier Fetherstonhaugh of the McGill War Records Office. The files contain photos, news clippings, correspondence, and dispatches of both McGill military personnel and civilians, as well as colored card indexes of names, and lists of awards, honours, prisoners of war, and those either missing or killed in action.
A further aspect of the McGill Remembers project is Cross and Milligan's interest in restoring McGill's Memorial Hall which contains a Book of Remembrance as well as many military plaques, flags, and paintings. Formerly, Memorial Hall was the site of many Remembrance Day celebrations.
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Additional Resources
McGill Remembers WWII, 1939-1945 (the initial website of McGill Remembers Project):
http://www.education.mcgill.ca/ww2fields/mcgill/McGill Remembers: World War II - virtual exhibit from McGill University Archives, November 2005:
http://archives.mcgill.ca/public/hist_scevents/V.A.C. Canada Remembers: Second World War Book of Remembrance - Veterans Affairs Canada:
http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=collections/books/bww2Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) - Debt of Honour Register:
http://www.cwgc.org/debt_of_honour.asp?menuid=14
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Credits
Gordon Burr, Senior Archivist (member of The McGill Remembers Committee) - supervisor, research
Wes Cross (member of The McGill Remembers Committee) - advisor, content contribution
Christopher Milligan (member of The McGill Remembers Committee) - advisor, content contribution
Sarah Jensen - research, content
Simeon Ivanov - web development, content, research
