After many years of research and discussion over the discovery of Sgt. Bill Grants notes at Library & Archives Canada (LAC), over seven years ago, I have finally put together a video to reveal the find, and it’s ramifications in celebrating the 80th Anniversary of D-Day on June 6th, 2024.
Striving to learn more about the contents of the notes, I reached out to long-time friend of the Film Unit website; Ben Moogk. Together, Ben and I have met over the years to discuss the details written down by Sgt. Grant, and how the discovery of the notes might affect perceived notions of footage shot on the Normandy beach, 80 years ago.
Aiding me in the process was the fact that as a Film Conservator, I had been familiar with some of the men and women of the Canadian Army Film and Photo Unit; having viewed and been part of restoring the many films shot by the Film Unit, like the Canadian Army Newsreels, currently stored at LAC.
One summer, while on assignment in the Archival Assistant program, an encounter with Staff Sergeant Serge Tremblay, of the Canadian Forces Joint Imagery Centre (CFJIC), at DND, would direct me to veteran Norman Quick, who introduced me to others of the Unit; Charles Ross, Michael Spencer, Graham Campbell, and Nadine Manning. With them, I learned a lot about the Unit, their work, and the close camaraderie the Unit shared with each other during the tumultuous years of World War II.
As I learned more, and gathered information, it seemed that with the approach of the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, that now was the time to reveal what I had discovered, and share it with Canada.
In a video of his own, Ben Moogk, expresses his thoughts about Grant’s War Diary notes, with revelations and discoveries, shared here for the first time.
As well, I am/will be, sharing a video of yet another discovery, right here in Ottawa, of a movie camera, claimed to have been used in Korea, and on D-Day. Stay tuned!
Also in the works,and working to have it ready by June 6th, is an interview with the late Robert ‘Bob’ Lansdale. Bob Lansdale and I met at one of his Photographic Fairs in Toronto, which was followed with a sit down interview in January 2019, where he discusses his 1994 interview with Ken Bell, a former combat still cameraman with the Canadian Army Film Unit. His interview reveals additional information about how footage was shot on the beaches of Normandy 80 years ago, and I am happy to post it here.
I owe a lot of people many thanks for their patience and help in bringing a lot of the content here to the website. First and foremost are the staff at Library & Archives Canada. Many, if not all the documents I present here in the videos, and posts are culled from the many collections, deposits, and documents stored within LAC vaults. Without the expert care and knowledge of the people that safeguard this material, none of these ‘discoveries’ would be possible.
I thank you all.
© 2024 Dale Gervais
A big thank you to everyone at the Gatineau Preservation Centre for your help in the making of this video; James Crowe, Cédric Brosseau, Donald McDougall, Richard Provencher, Chris Smith, Paul Gordon, Andre Larivière, and also to Ben Moogk who has provided a lot of support and knowledge about the Film Unit that has made this website possible! Dale.
Thank you to Francois for the following email comment – “Just a quick note to commend your work on the project. I enjoyed your deep dive into Sgt Grant’s notes. As a career videographer/editor, I also collect and preserve amateur 16mm film, not on the scale of LAC or NFB, but a modest set up just the same. 30 years has resulted in some interesting finds. My scope is rather broad, but I have a few Canadian SWW reels I intend on producing documentaries about. Well done!”