On Dominion Day (now known as Canada Day) 75 years ago today, July 1, 1944, the gentleman on the right is enjoying a nice summer day on a Canadian beach. The gentlemen on the left, however, were busy on Juno Beach in France, and offered a friendly reminder that the first guy was on the wrong beach.
Surprisingly, the guy relaxing on the Canadian beach (with the pretty girls keeping their distance) was probably also a soldier in the Canadian Army!
After Canada entered the War in 1939, the government of Prime Minister Mackenzie King was eager to avoid violent opposition to the draft, as had happened in 1917. Conscription was instituted in 1940, but with the condition that drafted soldiers were to be used only in North America, and not overseas. Other than the Aleutian Islands Campaign, there was little need for combat soldiers to serve in North America. It wasn’t until late 1944 that drafted soldiers were sent overseas. In the meantime, soldiers had to volunteer. This ad is part of the persuasion, which of course also came from their comrades who had volunteered. Those who volunteered for overseas service wore the “GS” (General Service) insignia. Those who didn’t volunteer wore distinctive uniforms with a black necktie, to make sure that nobody got the two groups mixed up.
This means, of course, that the 340 Canadian soldiers who died taking Juno Beach on D-Day
were there only because they volunteered to be there. By 1943, the men who declined to ship out as part of the GS were being referred to as “zombies,” neither alive nor dead. The force came to be called the Zombie Army. The song “Salute to a Zombie” (sung to the tune of Darling Clementine) became popular throughout Canada.
The song probably hasn’t been performed in almost 75 years, which seemed like a shame. A 1943 performance of the song at a Calgary military base caused a riot after General Service men sang it to taunt the zombies. Ironically, the military police who had to break up the fight were probably themselves zombies, as it would be unwise to waste a GS man with that domestic role.We put out a call for volunteers, and loyal reader David Cripe agreed to perform the song. We are confident that tempers have cooled after 75 years, and no riots will ensue.
The ad at the top appeared in the Ottawa Citizen, 1 July 1944.
References
- D. Byers, Zombie Army: The Canadian Army and Conscription in the Second World War
- S. Thompson, I am Zombie: Mobilization in WWII Canada and Forced “Zombie” Performances 1939-1947