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A Much-Awaited Telegram

Colour telegram. Strip at the top reading “Canadian National Telegraphs,” written in beige on a red background. One-line text in black capital letters on a beige background, date and signature in purple.

Date: July 5, 1945

Source: Courtesy of Lynda Vachon  

Telegram from Halifax sent on July 5, 1945,  from Fernand Vachon to his family on Wellington Street, with the following message: “ARRIVED SAFE AND SOUND HOPE TO BE HOME SOON.” [Translation] 

This soldier and his family were certainly very anxious to see each other. However, the repatriation of more than one million Canadians during the two world wars represented an enormous logistical feat. Planning the trans-Atlantic voyage and managing the influx of soldiers at Canadian ports and on trains was often a difficult endeavour.