Jim Blanchard’s book Winnipeg’s Great War: A City Comes of Age, touches on a staggering amount of people and places throughout our city that are affected by the war in some way. In following up on the information in the book, it’s clear that while the First World War ended over 90 years ago now, its impact is still being felt right here in Winnipeg.
While the landscape of the city has clearly been altered over such a long period of time, many of the organizations mentioned in the book still remain in their traditional roles. The Salvation Army and St. John Ambulance are still important pillars within the city and have branches set up across town to serve roles not unlike the wartime versions of themselves.
Many military regiments mentioned in the book are also still active. The Royal Winnipeg Rifles moved from their original location in the book Minto Armoury in the city’s West End in the 1940’s and have been there ever since. Nicknamed the “little black devils” and renowned for their valour and fighting prowess in the war, the regiment is still proudly sending soldiers into conflicts across the globe. They have men and women stationed in Afghanistan currently and while they are proud of their present standing, they’re careful to never forget their illustrious past.
Master Corporal Beaudry has been with the regiment for 12 years now. He says it is a source of pride to be a part of a regiment so well known across the country and that it’s important to them to educate future generations through their museum, located at the Minto Armoury.
“We are very proud of our museum; we always do our best to keep it going. We have offer tours to school groups and scouts to try to make sure our name and our history stays around.”
“We have a website as well that we keep updated and we put as much as we can on that as well,” said Beaudry on the regiment’s efforts to stay current and not live off of their name.
The impact of the war is still being felt in across the city in general as well. A quick drive through Winnipeg’s North End shows that Winnipeg’s traditional divide, one that was exacerbated by mistreatment of various “enemy” immigrants during the war , still exists and many buildings in the North End appearing run down or abandoned. Selkirk Avenue is no longer the bustling commercial street referenced in the book but many ethnic businesses are still around with a heavy Ukrainian presence still existing through businesses like Gunn’s Bakery and Todaschuk Sisters’ Ukrainian Boutique.
Karl Thordarson works in the North End. He says the area still suffers from many problems mentioned in the book, but the situation has gotten far worse and the neighbourhood is no longer the unified place it once was, with pride giving way to danger.
“It’s not really a safe place to be, especially at night. It used to be kind of rough but there were always families and it was a tight knit place,” he said.
“It’s definitely taken a turn for the worse, whether that was from the war I don’t know, but it isn’t the same place anymore.”
The struggles in the North End are a perfect example of how while Winnipeg has changed since 1918, it has largely stayed the same. The city is bigger and technology plus various other factors have lead to new problems, but many of the stories, places and even military regiments remain as reminders of the war’s everlasting impact.
It is this impact that makes Blanchard’s book an interesting read not only for historians but for all Winnipeggers concerned about their city.
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