The Archives of Ontario’s exhibit, Dear Sadie: Love, Lives, and Remembrance from Ontario’s First World War, runs until January 2016.
The Archives of Ontario’s first onsite exhibit is about World War I and it focuses on how the conflict personally affected individuals, rather than on the battles. Entitled Dear Sadie: Love, Lives, and Remembrance from Ontario’s First World War, the exhibit features the lives of four ordinary Ontarians who experienced the war in different ways. The lives of Private John Mould, Dr. L. Bruce Robertson, and Sadie Arbuckle and Lieutenant Harry Mason are brought to life through their personal writings.
Because of the huge impact the war had on Canadians, the Archives created large displays, some larger than life, that run from floor to ceiling and the length of entire walls.
About 2,000 photos of T. Eaton Company department store employees who served during the war are displayed on the entry wall. A second wall shows amateur footage of the unveiling of the Vimy Memorial in 1936 and another wall features a life-size panoramic view of combatants from the 80th Battalion.
This exhibit runs until January 2016. It is open from Monday to Friday from 8.30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays until 8:00 p.m, and on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. The Archives of Ontario is closed on Sunday and statutory holidays.
You can read more about the exhibit on the Archives of Ontario’s website and in an article, Over the Top: The Archives of Ontario WWI Onsite Exhibit, by Timothy Humphries on ActiveHistory.ca.
My father worked for Eaton’s and signed up in Dec. 1915. He returned from the war. Did Eaton’s have the names of the employees who served and returned or was the plaque only for those who were killed. I have no idea were the plaques are now, when I was a child they were on the street level floor at the downtown Toronto store. Any information on this would be greatly appreciated. My fathers name was Douglas James Bell.
Good question. You should contact the Archives of Ontario. I bet they will be pleased to provide the answer.