October 15, 2012

Monday and Tuesday, October 15 and 16, 2012

Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario
The Sir Winston Churchill Society of Ottawa (SWCSO) invites you to join us for two tours in Ottawa following Toronto’s 29th International Churchill Conference. 

As one of the newest Churchill societies, the Sir Winston Churchill Society of Ottawa will be delighted to host you in our beautiful capital city. 

On Monday, October 15, we will travel to the Diefenbunker Cold War Museum, a once-secret underground bunker that was built during the Cold War by Canada’s thirteenth Prime Minister, John Diefenbaker, to house key Canadian Government officials in the event of a nuclear attack on Ottawa. It functioned in that role for 33 years and is now a museum and a Canadian National Historic Site.

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As part of this tour, we will be privileged to have Capt. (N) (Ret’d) Michael Braham, a leader in civil emergency preparedness planning, speak to us about the role of the Diefenbunker and nuclear defence in Canada during the Cold War. A special “Cold War” lunch with award-winning Canadian historian and SWCSO Board member Charlotte Gray delivering a keynote address on the subject of her latest book, the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, will follow the tour of the bunker. After the visit, attendees will be transported back to Ottawa.

On Tuesday, October 16, we will visit the Canadian War Museum. Established in 1880, the collection moved to its magnificent new home on May 8, 2005, the 60th anniversary of V-E Day. Three of its four galleries relate to periods in which Churchill played meaningful or essential roles – as soldier, journalist, First Lord, Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War, Minister of Air, Minister of Defence, or Prime Minister.

Participants in this tour will hear Dr. Peter MacLeod, pre-Confederation historian at the Canadian War Museum and curator of the War of 1812
display, explain how the War Museum developed the “Four Wars of 1812” concept that underlies the exhibition, which explores the war through the eyes of the four main participants: Canadians, Americans, the British, and Native Peoples. Over a catered lunch in a private room at the museum, our keynote speaker will be Dr. Andrew Burtch, historian for the Post-1945 period at the Canadian War Museum. Dr. Burtch will explain the evolution of Canada’s Cold War civil defence policies and address the reasons for the failure of the program.

All who are interested – whether or not an Ottawa Society member or an attendee at the Toronto conference – may sign up for either Monday’s visit to the Diefenbunker, or Tuesday’s visit to the Canadian War Museum, or both. The price for each visit is $100 per person and both tours start at 8:30 AM. Lunch, tours, and speakers are included on both days; transportation to and from the Diefenbunker is also included with Monday’s tour.

Anyone interested in visiting Ottawa for either or both events should contact SWCSO Director and Treasurer Alan Boyce at [email protected].