Our Statement on Truth and Reconciliation

Statement on Truth and Reconciliation

The Secrets of Radar Museum acknowledges that it is located on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Attawandaron peoples, on lands connected with the London Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796 and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum.

Museums are not neutral. The history of museums is linked to histories of colonialism and classification—of things, places, cultures, people. Even us, a small museum dedicated to Canadian radar history, is touched by colonialism. The radar history we share has touched every part of the world, has both witnessed and enacted divisive and traumatic actions, not only in and because of war, but in the name of technological advancement and superiority.

We were founded by WWII veterans and share a predominantly military history that is, itself, one of marginalisation and personal sacrifice. It is a history about which we feel enormous pride and love, for our veterans, for our community, for the beautiful stories of overcoming the odds and rising above expectations. But, within that history, and surrounding it, are things that hurt, us, our veterans, our community. Broadly speaking, the Canadian Forces and military tradition share a long history of racism and sexism. This does not make our museum, or the military, inherently bad, but it must be acknowledged that arbitrary restrictions based on stereotypes and prejudices affected who could join what branches of service, for how long, or not at all, and what kind of experience they had while serving. We must acknowledge those wrongs and correct for them. It is a sometimes agonizingly slow process, and many excellent people have been damaged waiting for movement from those unwilling to accept the truth or the willingness to push for change.

Now, faced as we are with the evidence of a traumatic and violent system, one that Indigenous peoples have long spoken of, and about which investigations were demanded (and ignored), we are shaken. We are disturbed by this revelation, by this haunting truth about the Indian Residential School System, and we should be disturbed. It is appropriate to be disturbed, angry, disgusted, horrified, betrayed. What has been enacted against Indigenous peoples in the name of “civilisation” and “assimilation”—and the reverberations that continue to be felt today—are no less than disturbing, angering, horrifying betrayals of human rights and dignity. As a nation, Canada carries a burden of past and current injustices perpetrated against First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, and these wrongs must be corrected. We must, collectively and individually, demand action, not just because of stolen and lost children, not just for missing and murdered Indigenous women, not just for clean drinking water, but for those human rights and dignity in which we as a nation so strongly believe.

We are a tiny museum, but truth and reconciliation matters to us.

In Memorium: Jacob Julien Olson, 1921-2020

Julien Olson, as he was known to us, was a good friend to the museum. He passed away on June 24, 2020, just days away from his 99th birthday.

Originally from Alberta, Julien joined the RCAF in 1941 and successfully completed his training as a radar mechanic. Unlike many of his colleagues who were posted in multiple places and theatres, Julien served overseas in Britain for the duration, proudly supporting first the RAF Pathfinder 109 Squadron’s twin-engined Vickers Wellington medium bombers and then the legendary de Havilland Mosquito light bombers as a radar technician. The use of blind-bombing system Oboe was pioneered in the Mosquito; Oboe’s high accuracy enabled the Pathfinders to mark targets and was crucial to the success of the RAF's campaign against the Ruhr. The squadron continued performing marking duties until the end of the war, including the last raid on Berlin on 21 April 1945, as well as supply drops into the Netherlands near the war’s end. While overseas, Julien met the love of his life, Lilian, an RAF WAAF. They were married in September, 1945, and she returned with him to Western Canada. They eventually settled in Ottawa, where Julien, a trained architect, began a new career with the Federal Department of Public Works.

In 2013, Julien organised a radar luncheon so that former SORM curator, Maya Hirschman, could interview a dozen WWII radar mechanics and operators. Julien made sure she was well looked after and that as many veterans were there as possible. She returned in 2014 to carry out a couple deeper interviews, and again, Julien, along with his daughter Christine, was a terrific host. He also arranged for the museum’s H2X radar unit to travel from Ottawa to London, where it is proudly displayed. Several artefacts belonging to Julien are displayed at the museum that document his ingenuity, which was indicative of radar mechanics as a whole, including a small ammeter he built from the cannibalised parts of broken equipment warehoused on a base in England.

We at the museum will sincerely miss Julien—his dedication and generosity—and are eternally grateful for his decision to involve himself in the goings-on at SORM.

You can read Julien’s full obituary published in the Ottawa Citizen.

Left to right: David Barlow (donor of the H2X), former curator Maya Hirschman, radar veteran Roy Taylor, and radar veteran Julien Olson, 2014.

Happy New Year from the Secrets of Radar Museum!

Pictured is CFS Falconbridge, c.1971. Opened in 1952 as RCAF Station Falconbridge, just north of Sudbury, ON, it closed in 1985 after the Pinetree Line—the line of NORAD radar stations that spanned the breadth of southern Canada—was declared redundant. Photographer unknown. Did you take this photo or know who did? Please let us know! Collection of the Secrets of Radar Museum

For us at “Radar”, this new year—2020—is a special one. It marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

When the war began in September 1939, no one foresaw just how long it would last. As the years crept by, enlistment faltered, enthusiasm waned, and casualties mounted. When it finally ended, thousands of exhausted Canadians returned to their friends and families. Our radar story begins in late 1940 with a few hundred men with radio and electronics skills, culminating at war’s end with about 15,000 total Canadian men and women working in the RCAF radar program. Sworn to the Official Secrets Act, they toiled in often appalling, occasionally extremely dangerous conditions, overseas and in Canada, in every theatre of war, working beside Britons, Australians, and a host of other Commonwealth citizens, as well as Americans, to thwart, baffle, and defend against enemy operations.

We were, of course, founded by those very same WWII radar veterans in order to preserve and share their unique history whose secrecy was mirrored by those involved in experimental scientific and intelligence activities. Like the veterans themselves, many of whom continued to work in radar-related fields in their post-war careers, returned to school, built companies and families, we too have branched out. We’ve come a long way, with multiple exhibits, a unique collection of artefacts and archives, virtual exhibits, and education and outreach programming. Although the past year saw many challenges and changes, standing here looking at our displays, with all of you supporting us in so many invaluable ways, we feel pretty good about the future.

With that said, we offer you gratitude and the sincerest wish for a healthy and happy 2020, and hope that you will continue to engage with us in the weeks and months ahead as we commemorate this momentous anniversary year. To you and yours, Happy New Year!

The Radar-Carrot Myth on the Food Non-Fiction Podcast

In late November, Manager Maya took a call from one of the producers of a podcast called Food Non-Fiction.  What Lillian Yang wanted to talk about was the 'carrot myth' and how it helped keep the secret of radar during the war.  Maya was, of course, happy to oblige.  The results are up now on the Food Non-Fiction website, and we encourage you to listen and share your thoughts (and carrot recipes) in their comments section. 

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While it's true that carrots are good for you and improve the overall health of your eyes, they don't really give you better vision.  At least, not like the Second World War British propaganda machine would have you believe.  So, by all means, eat them, but they won't help you see in the dark.

A Tribute to the Women of Radar (today, and every day)

We can't tell the radar story without talking about the pivotal roles played by women, so in a sense, every day at the Museum is a Women's Day.  Women participated in radar research, made up what is very likely a majority of radar operations work, and built the equipment.  Their roles spanned science, technology, mechanics, communications, and operations.  In many cases, if not most, there was a high degree of precision and skill required to do the radar work they did, and like so often is the case, history has been pretty quiet telling their stories. 

Women working in RCAF/RAF radar during the Second World War were held to the Official Secrets Act just like the men, but unlike many of the men who returned and were encouraged to continue education in the fields of physics, engineering, radio, and electronics, women were expected to relinquish their places and return to the limited careers permitted to women, or more likely, to get married and make a home.  We don't mean to say that being a homemaker or mother isn't hard work, we know it is!  We are simply drawing attention to the fact that these women, who played such a vital role in the rapid development of radar, and more broadly speaking, the outcome of the war, were not given opportunities remotely equal to those of the returning men, but were still held to the same level of discretion and secrecy. 

So to those women, and those that followed in their footsteps, thank you for your service, your commitment, your dedication, and trailblazing.  We thank you, we are grateful, and we wouldn't be here without you.

Map of every bomb dropped on London during the Blitz

Have you ever wondered at the extent of the damage inflicted on London during the Blitz?  Museum intern, Michelle, stumbled on this fascinating website while carrying out radar related research.  Visit Bomb Sight to learn more.  It's fascinating.

The Bomb Sight project is mapping the London WW2 bomb census between 7/10/1940 and 06/06/1941. Previously available only by viewing in the Reading Room at The National Archives, Bomb Sight is making the maps available to citizen researchers, academics and students.

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Members of the London Fire Brigade train their hoses on burning buildings in Queen Victoria Street, EC4, after the last and heaviest major raid mounted on the capital during the 'Blitz'. For six hours on the night of 10-11 May 1941, aircraft of the Luftwaffe dropped over 1,000 tons of ...

Sourced & Licensed from © IWM Imperial War Museum Non Commercial Licence

Doors Open and more

YES, we are part of Doors Open London, but we'll be up at the RCR Museum with a nifty pop-up display.  And 'radar popcorn', too.

Doors Open London is a little bit different this year than it has been in the past.  We'll be open at our own site on the Saturday as usual, but we'll also be running a special Doors Open display out of the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) Museum, on both Saturday and Sunday starting at 10AM.  The RCR Museum is located at 701 Oxford Street East.  You can learn more about this weekend's venues and events at the Doors Open London website.

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Speaking of shows, two weeks ago we participated in the 'Wings Over Gatineau en vol' Air Show for the first time.  What a wonderful event that was!  Lots of history for the history loving aviation and military aficionados and newbies alike.  Vintage Wings put on a fantastic show and we're already looking forward to next year's event.

We also had our Annual General Meeting just this past weekend, which was well-attended by a diverse audience of interested people.  We're certain this is a sign of good things to come!  

... are we live?

Well, we're back after an extended absence from the web.  You probably notice that things look a little different around here.  We took the opportunity afforded us by our significant down-time to revamp our page a little.  Okay, a lot.

Our old page was rather static, so some of the things you can look forward to seeing on the new page include this blog, for a start, as well as a new multimedia page for audio and film clips, as well as a "From the Vault" section, which will showcase some of our artefacts.  We're considering a section for "Your Stories" because so many of you share your own family radar histories with us that we'd like to share them with the world!

What do you think?  Comments are always appreciated.