What’s New

The Trench

The Elgin’s 31 Combat Engineer Regiment build a trench based on construction plans originally used in World War 1, Belgium and France, 1914 – 1918.
Fighting rages along the Western Front, a 400-mile line of barbwire and trenches. Soldiers hoping to survive in the storm of bullets and shellfire seek refuge in the trench. Constructed in Thamesville, Ontario in 2018 by the Canadian Great War Society, the intent was to provide Canadians with insights into the experiences of Canada’s soldiers in WW1. The trench was built with the aid of construction plans originally used during WW1. Now, after several years of use, the trench needed rebuilding and repairs. The Elgin’s, 31 Combat Engineer Regiment agreed to help repair and rebuild the trench, and to provide their team with a valuable training exercise. The Elgin’s found this to be an exciting opportunity for their combat engineers to experience how trenches were constructed in WW1. They noted how very similar the trenches and barbwire entanglements were, between WW1 and today. When the trench was completed some team members said that they would feel quite safe in the trench during combat. The trench building exercise also had resonance for them, given the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There, once again, soldiers have built trenches to protect themselves from the effects of shells and bullets. The Trench video is presented by The King & Empire Foundation.

What else is new

Eyewitness to History: Major “Lockie” Fulton returns to the battlefields of Normandy 1944 to talk about D-Day on Juno Beach and Carpiquet Airport, where his comrades of the Winnipeg Rifles fought the murderous 12th SS Panzer Division.
An interview with Ted Leja – Regimental Sergeant Walter Leja, a WWII veteran, started to disarm bombs that were found in Mail Boxes in Westmount, Montreal.
The Riot at Christie Pits: Toronto 1933, antisemitism and bigotry lead to Canada’s worst race riot.
Recounting a WWI soldiers life through photographs, letters and other memorabilia.
Jim Stirling talks about his remarkable experiences.

A critical time for Canadian history.

Now more than ever, special effort is required to prevent our stories and legacies from disappearing, and it is the King & Empire Foundation’s mission to support this effort. Please join us in keeping our stories alive.

We are a registered charity so contributions can be tax deductible.

Eyewitness

Newly Released WWII Veteran Interviews.

An interview with 'Secret Liberator' Al Sirois
(full video coming soon) Among others, Secret Liberators includes an interview with Al Sirois, an SOE Wireless operator.
An interview with Jim Moffet, from 'Striking Back'
(full video coming soon) Many of our documentaries have interviews. Here's an excerpt from Striking Back that includes an interview with Jim Moffet.
An interview with Jim Stirling
This interview was done in 2008 in anticipation of a TV Show Evaders & Escape Lines. Jim gave us a one piece interview, literally; one question and off he went.
An interview with Joe Ekins
On August 8, 1944, under incredible pressure, he destroyed 3 Tigers.
An interview with Ken Tout
He was there for the fight, and overheard much of the battle on his radio.
An interview with Major Lockie Fulton on D-Day
Eyewitness to History: Major "Lockie" Fulton returns to the battlefields of Normandy 1944 to talk about D-Day on Juno Beach and Carpiquet Airport, where his comrades of the Winnipeg Rifles fought the murderous 12th SS Panzer Division.
An interview with Sydney Radley-Walters
His unit made up the eastern flank of what would be the trap that crushed Wittmann's Tigers.
An interview with Ted Leja
One of the turning points, seemingly unnoticed, of Our Canada, took place in front of the cameras and a live audience, May 17, 1963.
Interview with Jules Paivio
Paivio was the last surviving Canadian veteran of the Spanish Civil War, and of the Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion.

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Now stream your favourite K&E TV Shows and documentaries!

An excerpt from Searching for Vimy’s Lost Soldiers. Watch full-length videos in our Video Archive, below!

The King & Empire Foundation’s television series and documentary archive

Available to the public for educational, research, private study, and non-commercial use only.

Eyewitness: Veteran Interviews
These interviews were conducted in 2007 as part of the TV Series, Battlefield Mysteries, for History Channel in Canada. We were very lucky to be able to interview the most important men involved in this famous, maybe legendary, and very brief encounter, that took place on August 8, 1944 during Operation Totalize.
9 videos
TV Series: Battlefield Mysteries
The battlefield was littered with the wreckage of 5 German Tiger tanks, including the Tiger 007, the tank of the highest scoring SS Panzer Ace, Michael Wittmann. Wittmann was a legend to the Germans and his loss was devastating to the moral of the men but the Allies hadn't heard of him until 1983 when his remains were recovered from a lost grave in Normandy. Who killed Michael Wittmann? We had to recreate a 15 minute battle that took place 63 years earlier.
4 videos
TV Series: For King and Country
Return to the Canadian battlefields of World War II with renowned military historian Norm Christie.
6 videos
TV Series: For King and Empire
In their own words, the men who fought tell their stories, and we discover how the naive amateur soldiers of 1914 became, by 1918, perhaps the most feared, efficient and deadly Allied Corps on the Western Front.
7 videos
TV Series: In Korea
Norm traces the origins of the Korean war, from the North Korean Invasion in June 1950, the battle for the Pusan Perimeter, the arrival of the Canadians, their first actions and the stand of the 2nd Patricias at Kapyong in April 1951.
3 videos
TV Series: The Great War Tour
Few realize that 20,000 of the 60,000 Canadians killed in the Great War are Missing. Norm shows how we can resolve some of the mysteries of The Missing. It explains the many reasons that so many soldiers simply vanished from the battlefields. There is particular reference to the missing cemetery that contains 44 soldiers of the Canadian Scottish (including William Milne VC), killed April 9th, 1917 on the Vimy battlefield, CA40.
8 videos
TV Shows: Documentaries and Specials
Norm Christie examines old battlefields and visits the cemeteries and memorials that hold the secrets to the legacy and sacrifices of Canadians. Also, the Special Operations Executive ran underground operations against the Nazi occupiers, and provided a spirit of resistance to the isolated French people. And much more!
11 videos