Episode 36 continues our three-part series on French-Canadian participation in Canada’s world wars, with historian Julien Lehoux joining us to examine Hong Kong as Québec’s forgotten battle.

We revisit how “C Force” was assembled as a symbol of a united, bilingual Canada, including the Royal Rifles of Canada: an officially English-language regiment drawn largely from Eastern Québec, with a significant Francophone contingent. From the first shells to the Christmas Day fighting at Stanley Village, Hong Kong was Canada’s first land battle of the Second World War against impossible odds, ending in surrender, captivity, and silence.

We also discuss how POW censorship pushed Francophones to write home in English, and how veterans’ associations became their refuge decades after the war. Julien then explains how sparse Francophone press coverage, Dieppe’s emotional pull, and the Conscription Crisis redirected Remembrance, leaving Hong Kong’s volunteers outside Québec’s public memory.

For additional resources, check out Julien's paper "« Souvenons-nous de Hong Kong » : la bataille de Hong Kong et son absence mémorielle au Québec de 1941 à aujourd’hui" here and don't forget the Je Me Souviens website for their interactive online exhibition about the Canadians at Hong Kong titled “Impossible Odds.”

Episode 32 kicks off a three-part Rum Ration series that shatters the myth that French-Canadians were unwilling to serve in Canada’s wars.

Hosts Rejoy Chatterjee and Colin Robinson sit down with historians Richard Garon (First World War) and Julien Lehoux (Second World War/Hong Kong) to explain why the story is less about “reluctance” and more about barriers.

They unpack the pre-1914 climate: an English-only military culture, limited advancement for Francophones, and political flashpoints like Ontario’s Regulation XVII. Then they follow the call to arms, from the hard-won creation of the 22nd Battalion (“Van Doos”) to strong volunteerism again in 1939, even as “one-way bilingualism” persisted.

The episode also confronts the bitter legacy: conscription, riots, and how collective memory elevated Dieppe while Hong Kong’s Quebec volunteers faded from view. Next up: stay tuned for episodes that will focus on Richard’s new numbers for WWI participation, and Julien’s deep dive on Hong Kong: Québec's Forgotten Battle.

Rum Ration turns one!

In Episode 33, former infantry officers Rejoy Chatterjee and Colin Robinson celebrate together a full year of rum, banter, and battlefield history, plus their ongoing hunt for a sponsor.

Listen in as they revisit Canada’s early conflicts, from Queenston Heights to the 1775 march on Quebec, then fast-forward to Paardeberg’s “Bloody Sunday.” The First World War dominates a lot of their episodes: the grind of trenches and logistics, the Ross Rifle’s failures, and the shock of chlorine gas at Second Ypres, where Canadians and their beloved unit, The Royal Montreal Regiment (RMR), helped hold a collapsing line. Vimy Ridge returns as a turning point, alongside lessons from General Sir Arthur Currie at Vimy and in a separate episode about Hill 70.

The recap also ranges across Hong Kong, Canadian volunteers for the Vietnam war, the Sten gun, the RMR’s fight for an armory (and survival!), Hannibal’s Cannae, and the Avro Arrow vs Bomarc missile debate, before landing on the show’s core theme: selflessness, remembrance, and camaraderie, plus a teaser of what’s ahead in 2026.

Cheers to history!