We pack a lot into the pages of every issue of Kayak, but there’s always more great stuff we just can’t fit in. So join Teeka and Beau, our otter mascots, to find out more about the theme of each issue, or just pick up some random bits of Canadian history.

Kids and the Great War

Although the First World War was fought over in Europe, it affected Canadian kids here at home. Their fathers, brothers, uncles and friends were often in danger, and many lost their lives. Many children wanted to do something to help win the war. Some boys lied about their age so they could join the army. Girls made cloth bandages and knitted socks and mittens to send to soldiers. Boy Scouts and Girl Guides raised money for the Canadian Patriotic Fund, which helped families whose father was overseas.

During the First World War, military-style clothing for kids became popular. This photo from June 1918 shows five-year-old John Edmund Stewart of Hamilton, Ont., wearing an outfit made to look like something a commander in the navy would wear.

You were supposed to be at least 18 years old to join up, but William Ferguson of Little Current on Ontario’s Manitoulin Island was just 14 when he enlisted with the 92nd Battalion. He was hurt in the war and spent time in hospital, but survived.

Going to war must have been scary, but being left behind must have been terrible, too. In this 1916 picture, sisters Lil, left, and Margaret Lomax pose with their older brothers George, John, and William, who were about to leave for the war. None of the brothers returned.

Little Dona Patterson rides a pony in this photo, taken in 1919, a year after the end of the war. Dona was lucky — her dad, Coverdale Patterson, tried to enlist, but was turned down.



This Ontario teenager lied about his age to fight in the First World War. Only 17, he was injured in November 1918 and is shown in hospital.
Credit: Library and Archives

Garner Currie, shown wearing a military style outfit, holds his dad’s hand in this undated photo. Garner’s father, Arthur, was the top Canadian general in the Great War.
Credit: Canadian War Museum



Three-year-old Jose Morrel Granatstein of Toronto seems to like his miniature uniform. This photo was taken in the fall of 1914.
Credit: Toronto City Archives



Norman James of Toronto shows off the first artillery shell produced in the city, in the fall of 1914. A shell like this contained explosives and was fired from a huge gun.
Credit: Toronto City Archives

Many boys who were too young to fight volunteered to be “Soldiers of the Soil.” They left home to work on farms, growing food and doing jobs that adults used to do before the war. The program was open to boys from 15 to 19 years old. In total, 22,385 children took part in the program.
Credit: CWM 19890086-885

A group of girls lays flowers on Canadian soldiers’ graves at Shorncliffe, England, in June 1918.
Credit: Library and Archives MIKAN no. 3395031

Canadian boys weren`t the only ones who lied about their age to join up. This photo shows a 17-year-old German soldier among troops captured by Canadian forces in August 1917.
Credit: Library and Archives MIKAN no. 3403139