Too Young to Die Photo Gallery

The young faces shown in this gallery are but a few of the estimated thirty thousand underage youths who joined the Canadian armed forces in the Second World War. Some of the youths who managed to enlist were as young as fourteen. Like older servicemen they took their chances in the army, navy, air force, and merchant navy, and not all of them came home. It was an honour to capture some of their stories in the book Too Young to Die: Canada’s Boy Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen in the Second World War. A big debt of gratitude is also owed to the families who shared old photographs, letters, and memories. Clockwise from top left: Roy Spry, Bob Muir, Ralph Frayne, Denis Chisholm, Jim Parks and Kenneth Watson.

In July 2018 I participated in podcast with the Juno Beach Centre regarding this book. You can listen to it by visiting https://www.junobeach.org/podcast/too-young-to-die-with-dan-black/ It was an honour to participate in such an event.

Boy (Seaman Class) Kenneth Watson’s kit and personal effects list. LAC RG112 vol. 30783