CHAPTER SEVEN:

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anada declared war against Germany on September 10, 1939.

The declaration of war came about after Germany invaded

Poland on September 1. France, Great Britain and most of the countries of the British Commonwealth declared war shortly after. The Second World War was the most widespread in history, with more than 100 million people mobilized to fight. Millions of civilians lost their lives, from air bombing of cities and other targets, from the first use of nuclear weapons in warfare and the from the Holocaust which saw the extermination of six million Jews. It was the deadliest conflict in human history.

Coming on the heels of the Depression, the war would continue to disrupt and destroy the lives of millions of Canadians. More than 1.1 million Canadians served during the Second World War. Of those who went overseas, more than 45,000 were killed and a further 54,000 were wounded. Some 9,300 Islanders enlisted. That was more than 48 percent of the adult male population between the ages of 18 and 45, one of the highest enlistment rates in Canada. Some joined because of a patriotic desire to serve, others went for the adventure and still others saw service in the armed forces as an escape from the ravages of the Depression.

Of those Islanders who went overseas, more than 400 never returned, including two men from Kinkora.