Military History

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Description of the Military Oral Video History Project

Since April 2005, mainly in Bruce and Grey Counties and Wellington County and work with the Bruce county Museum, Grey Roots Museum and Huron County Museum as well as area legion branches

Why: The objective is to create an historical record, on video, of the memories of as many World War Two veterans as possible. These stories need to be preserved for future generations. Time is of the essence.
The project involves visiting World War II veterans in their homes and recording on video their memories of their experiences in the War.

HOW: The conversation is structured along the lines of an interview. An attempt is made to keep the conversation chronological. First we learn something of their family life and what they were doing before they joined up. Then how they happened to join up and perhaps why.

From that point on it’s basically where they went and what they did, what they saw, who they met and what they experienced.

Stories and details, however minor, are important. As are names. For historical and archival purposes, the veterans are encouraged to try to remember as many names as possible of the people they met and where they were from.

We’re also interested in what they thought of the whole thing their reflections on what happened to them as they sit in their living rooms more than 60 years later.

The conversations last an average of about one hour. The entire session is preserved, as is an edited version. Each of the veterans involved gets a complimentary copy of both. Many want extra copies for friends and family. These are provided at no charge.

For more information on this Military History project visit http://military.brucemuseum.ca/.