Canadian Kangaroo Regiment Archive

03/31/2026

This day in 1945.

03/26/2026

03/13/2026

Sergeant Gerald Charlebois from Ottawa, Ontario. April 1945. Charlebois was a Trooper with the Elgin Regiment prior to joining the Kangaroos in October of 1944.

(WJM)

Photos: 1CACR Archive. Courtesy K. Moore, estate of Gerald Charlebois

03/13/2026

Three Kangaroo Sergeants sharing a drink while on leave in Belgium. April 1945. Sgt. Stu Killins (Dutton, Ontario), Sgt. Gerald Charlebois (Ottawa, Ontario) and Sgt. Max Phillimore (St. Thomas, Ontario). All were former members of the Elgin Regiment prior to October 1944.

(WJM)

Photos: 1CACR Archive. Courtesy K. Moore, estate of Gerald Charlebois

03/13/2026

A 20 year old Trooper Walter Bonnema. 1945.

Photo: 1CACR Archive, courtesy David Boorne.
Boorne's father, Jack Boorne, was a fellow wireless operator in the Kangaroo's 'A' Squadron.

02/28/2026

02/24/2026

02/22/2026

I’m attempting to piece together what the uniforms of the British Kangaroos — 49th RTR / 49th APCR — may have looked like in service!?

At present, I have no knowledge of any surviving uniforms to the British Kangaroos. What we do have are a small number of photographs in which personnel show insignia — and, of course, all of those images are poor quality, in black and white, and details vary depending on the date and circumstances.

This portrait of Trooper Leonard Rees, ‘A’ Squadron, 49th APCR (driver of Bear), is the clearest indication we have of worn insignia, though it may not be entirely consistent with what appears in a few other photos.

Any shoulder colours unique to individual RTR units are not detailed in the 49th War Diaries or in the regimental history written by Les Scull, MM (49th — Unparalleled). A plaque at Bovington outlining RTR units and their colours suggests that the 49th, as an offshoot of the 43rd, likely wore the generic RTR colours of green over red. Other photos we have show no shoulder colours at all, or generic khaki worsted slip-ons bearing the black embroidered letters “RTR.”

Based on Trooper Rees’ portrait, this is my current best guess:

- Generic RTR shoulder colours (slip-on)
- Printed cloth patch of the 79th Armoured Division “Bull’s Head”
- Green wool diabolo of the 31st Armoured Brigade
- Royal Armoured Corps Arm-of-Service strip (red/yellow — yellow facing forward depending on sleeve)
- Royal Tank Regiment tank sleeve patch (right sleeve only)

Comments and corrections very welcome. If anyone has clear photos, a surviving uniform(!), or documentation that might refine this picture, I’d very much like to see it...

Bill Miller Jr.
@ The Archive in Calgary

02/19/2026

A note on preservation and why it matters.

From time to time I see excellent work being done by other small historical groups — often local initiatives, sometimes just one or two dedicated individuals — carefully documenting wartime experiences through photographs, documents, and personal stories. Recently I was reading a detailed post on underground newspapers produced during the German occupation of the Netherlands. The level of care and context reminded me that this kind of methodical work is still being done in pockets around the world.
It also reminds me how fragile these histories can be.

When the veterans of a unit are alive, memory exists in many places at once: in reunions, newsletters, conversations, and personal collections. But once that generation passes, the responsibility for preserving and explaining those records often falls to very few people — sometimes just one.

The history of the 1st Canadian Armoured Carrier Regiment was never large in scale, but it was rich in experience. Over the years the goal here has simply been to gather what could still be gathered: photographs, letters, service records, artifacts, and — perhaps most importantly — CONTEXT. Who the men were, how they served, and what their lives looked like before and after the war.

There are other regiments whose records have not survived in the same way. Not through neglect, but through time, dispersal of collections, and the natural passing of generations. Once that material is gone, it becomes very difficult to reconstruct the full picture.

If there is any lesson in the work of this Archive, it is that careful preservation doesn’t require a large institution or budget. What it does require is time, patience, and a willingness to keep asking questions while there are still answers to be found.
Eighty years on, the work becomes less about recounting exploits and more about ensuring that the record — however modest — remains intact and accessible for those who come looking in the future.

That has always been the aim here, and it remains so.

(WJM/Kurtz)