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.

There was more than fighting

We think of soldiers in the trenches when we think of the First World War, but the men had to train before they went into battle, and even got time away from the fighting.

Before the Fighting

The First Canadian Infantry Battalion training at Valcartier, Que., before heading off to England. Credit: George Metcalf Archival Collection, Canadian War Museum.

There was a detailed plan for training Canadian soldiers to go to war. Sam Hughes, the national government’s minister in charge of the war effort chucked it out the window. Instead, he insisted on creating a new camp for all volunteers at Valcartier, north of Quebec City. There is still a military base on the site.

Passing the Time

Canadian soldiers play baseball during a break from fighting. Credit: George Metcalf Archival Collection, Canadian War Museum

Soldiers didn’t fight all the time. They usually spent five or six days on the front lines, then moved from the trenches to areas farther away from the battle. When they were farther from danger, they still had to work but could relax a bit, writing letters, reading or playing games. The war was so stressful and scary that soldiers were occasionally given a chance to go to England and leave the fighting behind for a while.