Commemorative stamps honour the farmerettes and Soldiers of the Soil

Issued on October 28, 2024, just in time for Remembrance Day, these Permanent™ domestic rate stamps salute the farmerettes and Soldiers of the Soil. These young men and women laboured through two world wars to keep plates—and stomachs—full, both on the battlefield and at home.

“WE CAN’T FIGHT IF WE DON’T EAT!!”

During both world wars, Canada played a lead role in producing food for Britain and the Allied troops. The need for increased production, along with labour shortages (due in part to men leaving for military service), led to the creation of programs that recruited young people from across the country to work on farms. Among the programs created, teenaged boys participated in the national Soldiers of the Soil initiative during the First World War. Young women joined programs such as the Ontario Farm Service Force’s Farmerette Brigade in the Second World War.

Many recalled these farming summers with fondness, despite the hard work, and in later years, recognized that they had made invaluable contributions to the war effort. These acts of service are commemorated in this stamp issue. The Soldiers of the Soil stamp features an archival photograph, while the Farmerettes stamp bears a snapshot taken by Mary Barnaby Fountain, during her time as a farmerette.

This stamp issue reminds us of the enormous contributions made by ordinary Canadians who chose to give their all when their country called on them. It carries on a Canada Post tradition of recognizing the courage, service and sacrifice of Canadians who fought on the battlefield and those who served at home to support our military overseas.

Canada comes of age in critical battles

In 2017, a joint issue with France’s La Poste was released to mark Canada’s sacrifices in the pivotal Battle of Vimy Ridge. Canada’s stamp featured the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, which bears the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers who died in France.

While Canada Post has issued several stamps marking significant battles of the Second World War, in 2004, a stamp was released to commemorate the 60^th anniversary of D-Day and honour the Canadians who, as part of the Allied Forces, stormed Juno Beach in Normandy.

“Wait for Me, Daddy” depicts family sacrifices

In 2014, Canada Post issued a stamp that poignantly depicted the sacrifices made by families left behind. The stamp featured the famous October 1, 1940 photo by Claude P. Dettloff, headlined in the Vancouver Daily Province as “Wait for Me, Daddy.” The photo captured young Warren (Whitey) Bernard escaping his mother’s grasp and running to his father as the British Columbia Regiment’s Duke of Connaught’s Own Rifles marched to a waiting ship and eventually the horrors of the European front.

Canadian wartime contributions commemorated on Victory in Europe stamps

To mark the 75th anniversary of the 1945 victory in Europe, in 2020, Canada Post paired Private Léo Major, who single-handedly liberated the Dutch town of Zwolle, with the story of Veronica “Ronnie the Bren Gun Girl” Foster, who motivated women across Canada to roll up their sleeves and get to work for the war effort.

The faces of war

This 2021 Remembrance Day stamp issue honoured the men of Valour Road, three First World War recipients of the Victoria Cross (Britain’s highest honour for bravery in combat), each of whom had lived on Winnipeg’s Pine Street at some point in their lives. Corporal Lionel (Leo) Clarke, VC (1892-1916), Lieutenant Robert Shankland, VC, DCM (1887-1968) and Company Sergeant Major Frederick William Hall, VC (1885-1915). In recognition of the three heroes, the street was officially renamed Valour Road in 1925.

The 2022 Remembrance Day stamp issue paid respect to Tommy Prince (1915-1977), one of Canada’s most decorated Indigenous non-commissioned officers and war veterans, and a prominent Anishinaabe activist. Prince’s courage and service earned him the Military Medal, Silver Star (U.S.) and nine other decorations, including three (one posthumous) from his two tours of duty in the Korean War.