Beginning this weekend at the Fort York National Historic Site's new Visitor Centre,
Toronto will commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the First World War though a
series of initiatives called
TORONTO'S GREAT WAR ATTIC
"Toronto's Museums &
Heritage Services will pay tribute to the sacrifices made during the war
on the battle front and at home in countries around the world. The stories,
keepsakes and heirlooms associated with those who made these sacrifices have
been passed down to their descendants living in Toronto today."
Toronto's Great War Attic will
create a legacy for Torontonians for generations to come by documenting the
stories and keepsakes with events and Pop-up Museums in heritage sites all over Toronto starting September 20/21
through to November 2018.
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The First World War 1914 to 1918,
known at the time as the Great War, shocked the world with its catastrophic
global reach. Unlike the Toronto of 1914 to 1918 when the city’s population was
85 per cent British descent, at least half of today’s residents come from all
over the world. There are more than 230 self-identified ethnic groups in our
city.
Therefore, we have an
unprecedented opportunity to collect personal stories and images of keepsakes
and heirlooms passed down from many countries by those who lived through the
war, either in military service or on the home front, to their descendants who
are now living in Toronto.
Through such a collection, we can present the war from multiple
perspectives - allied nations of Great Britain and Germany; neutral and colonial
nations in Europe and Africa, which inadvertently served as battle zones; and
life on the home front in lands directly under attack and others, such as
Canada, which were never battle zones but whose populations contributed to the
war effort.
WW1 #messkit at Gibson House
Great War Attic exhibits around Toronto:
September 20 - 21, 1:30pm, Fort York Visitor Centre
September 25, 6:30pm - Mackenzie House
September 27, 1:00pm - Zion Schoolhouse
October 5, 1:30pm - Todmorden Mills
October 18, 1:30pm - Colborne Lodge
October 19, 1:30pm - Montgomery's Inn
October 26, 1:30pm - Spadina Museum
November 15, 1:00pm - Gibson House
Additional WW1 Exhibits at the new Fort York
Visitor Centre:
September 28, 10am-4pm - Recipe
for Victory: Great War Food Symposium
Fort York
National Historic Site, in partnership with the Culinary Historians of Canada, present
a special food symposium that explores the fascinating history of domestic and
military food and beverages during The Great War.
September 19, 2014 - September
2015 - The Great War: in Your Cellar,
Closet or Storage Locker!
This exhibition in the Fort York Visitor
Centre's lobby draws on the City of Toronto's artifact collection to tell the
story of typical small objects reflecting Canada's participation in the Great
War.
September 19, 2014 - September
2015 - Outfitted for War: Canadian
Uniforms and Weapons of the First World War
Do you have any artifacts or photos in your family from WW1?
Here are some additional images of Toronto during the Great War...
Parade down University Ave
Toronto army recruiting office
Women in a munitions factory in downtown Toronto
Training in Exhibition Park
Training in High Park
In formation at U of T
