This link will open a slideshow of pictures I took in Kananaskis in 2007. Again, these are unedited and I apologize that the pictures aren’t of the best quality. However, this is the fastest way to get them to you.
There are slides to help you count if you’d like to comment on a particular picture. It’s easiest if you use the slide number.
UNEDITED pictures taken in September 2007 at former Kananaskis Camp 130, which is now a University of Calgary research station, and a few shots of some of the surrounding area. The opening shots are not at the exact location of either camp but are there to show some of the countryside there. This was a foggy day. Usually the mountains are visible.
On germanpowcanada.com there is more information and pictures about German Prisoners of War held in Canada during the Second World War, the Veterans Guard of Canada, and others from the same times and places.
Kananaskis camp was used for internees and merchant marine early in the war. Ozada, a later tent camp, housed PoWs who were later moved to the permanent camps at Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.
REMEMBER you can turn off the sound, speed the film up or slow it down, using the controls provided by YouTube. If you aren’t sure how to do this, please Google it. You can also enlarge the video to full screen. Hover your mouse over the bottom right corner of the video and a symbol like a broken square will appear. Click on that to go to the full screen version. Hit your “ESC” button to go back to normal.
The slide show has markers every 10 slides. If you have a question or comment, please leave it in the comments section and if you can identify the slide by number, that will be very helpful.
Sorry for the reflections and glare. It was the best I could do.
The cabin was called the Colonel’s Cabin and was the office for the commanding officer. The prisoners had barracks, not as nice as the cabin in the film.
ITEM 367: WOOD COVERS ON A BOOK OF PoW DRAWINGS RELATED TO LETHBRIDGE CAMP 133.
DESCRIPTION: Wood cover with a carved “Veterans Guard of Canada” curved band across the top. Below that a Green Maple Leaf. Below that in Red on a Navy Blue background “PoW Camp 133, Lethbridge”. 15.5 X 11 cm.
Apparently made for a Camp “Show and Sale” as allowed for the PoW to dispose of their handicraft to Camp employees and local citizens.
Inside cover has a area marked “Room for your foto!”.
Pages as follows:
Drawing of guard tower, 1940 – 1945. German translates to “10 original illustrations of the Prisoners of War”;
Camp scene showing buildings, Union Flag, grain elevators;
Character sketch of a VGC member;
Jeep with running dog outside the wire;
VGC members searching new PoW;
VGC member working in a timber camp;
Canadian Engineer “Ferrets” survey the compound for potential escape sites;
Character sketch of a VGC member in winter garb;
VGC Roll Call.;
Guard Tower; and
VGC member relaxes as PoW work on a farm.
Canadian Censor mark 27 on the inside back cover of the book.