The Canadian Army Film and Photo Unit (CFPU) was a

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

unit founded in 1941 in order to document military operations during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was the last unit of its kind to be founded by the Allied armies. Among the campaigns which it recorded were the

invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis forces (Kingdom of Italy ...

, the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

landings, the

liberation of Paris The liberation of Paris () was a battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Armisti ...

and the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

River link-up of the Allied armies, known as '

Elbe Day Elbe Day, April 25, 1945, is the day Soviet and American troops met at the Elbe River, near Torgau in Germany, marking an important step toward the end of World War II in Europe. This contact between the Soviets, advancing from the east, and ...

History

The first official Canadian army photographer was Lieutenant Laurie Audrain of Winnipeg; he was appointed on June 25, 1940. However, it was soon recognized that a dedicated photographic unit was necessary. The CFPU was formed on June 19, 1941 under the command of Captain William Abell of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. By the end of World War II, fifty nine Canadian photographers and cameramen had been involved in combat operations in Europe. Of these, six were killed and eighteen were wounded. The CFPU was staffed by enlisted men and women. Its objectives were to film Canadian troops in action and supply the

Department of National Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

, and also media outlets, with theatrical newsreels and still photographs. It was the first Allied unit to provide film of the assault waves landing in Sicily and Normandy, the first to get still pictures from Normandy onto the front pages of the world press, and the only one to produce colour pictures of

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...

. Among its members were: *

Charles Roos Charles Frederick Roos (May 18, 1901 – January 6, 1958) was an American economist who made contributions to mathematical economics. He was one of the founders of the Econometric Society together with American economist Irving Fisher and Norwegi ...

, who was the first Allied cameraman ashore on D-Day. Roos' film of Canadian soldiers disembarking under fire on

Juno Beach Juno and or Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allies (World War II), Allied invasion of German occupation of France during World War II, German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during the World War II, Second Wo ...

is among the most iconic footage of the D-Day Landings. * Al Calder, who parachuted over the Rhine during Operation Market Garden, (

General Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and the ...

's bold but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to bring the war to an end by Christmas 1944). * Lieutenant Ken Bell, who landed on Juno Beach on D-Day with

The Highland Light Infantry of Canada The Highland Light Infantry of Canada was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. In 1965, the regiment was amalgamated with The Scots Fusiliers of Canada to form The Highland Fusiliers of Canada (now The Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada). ...

, and shot the only surviving colour footage of D-Day. * Llewellyn Weekes, who shot the

. * Sergeant D.W. Grant, who on D-Day filmed approximately two minutes of motion picture footage of soldiers of The North Shore Regiment landing at

Bernières-sur-Mer Bernières-sur-Mer (, literally ''Bernières on Sea''), in the arrondissement of Caen, is a commune in the Calvados department of Normandy, in northwestern France. It is part of the canton of Courseulles-sur-Mer. It lies on the English Chan ...

. The film was quickly sent to England and cleared for distribution by news outlets. Members of the CFPU were often in the front line, sometimes even ahead of it. During the liberation of Dieppe in 1944, as the Manitoba Dragoons awaited orders to advance, members of the CFPU including Ken Bell and Brian O'Regan were the first Allied servicemen to enter the town. In April 1945 the journalist Lionel Shapiro wrote in ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

'' magazine: :"CFPU men were in the thick of every battle, often moving with the most forward units, on a few occasions positioning themselves at a vantage point in no-man's land in anticipation of a clash."

Modern era and legacy

Today, Ken Bell's war photographs - taken with a

Rolleiflex Rolleiflex is a long-running and diverse line of high-end cameras originally made by the German company Franke & Heidecke, and later Rollei-Werke. History The "Rolleiflex" name is most commonly used to refer to Rollei's premier line of med ...

camera - are housed by the

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

., in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. After the war, Bell published a number of photographic memoirs of his experiences with the CFPU, including ''Curtain Call'', published in 1953, and ''Not in Vain'', published in 1973. In 2005, a one-hour

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

titled ''Shooters'' was made by James O'Regan, son of CFPU member Brian O'Regan, showing the history of the CFPU and broadcast on the CBC.O'Regan, Brian
"Camera Commandos."
''Shooters documentary website''. Retrieved: May 6, 2010. The eBook, ''Camera Commandos'', by Brian O'Regan, was also published.

Gallery

Photo Unit

File:Canadian landings at Juno Beach.jpg, The Royal Winnipeg Rifles aboard LCAs in the 1st wave, D-Day, June 6, 1944 File:Crowded beach at Courseulles-sur-Mer.jpg, A crowded beach at

Courseulles-sur-Mer Courseulles-sur-Mer (, ), commonly known as ''Courseulles'', is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Until 1957, the town's name was simply ''Courseulles''. It lies 3 km west of Bernières-sur-Mer and 18&n ...

, D-Day, June 6, 1944 File:Canadian Soldiers Juno Beach Town.jpg, Canadian Soldiers at

, June 6, 1944 File:Juno wounded2.jpg, Canadian wounded on Juno Beach, on D-Day. File:Canada JunoBeach wounded.jpg, Canadian wounded await evacuation on Juno Beach, on D-Day File:Group of prisoners who surrendered to Canadians in Courseulles.jpg, German prisoners who surrendered at

, June 1944 File:Junobeach Prisoners.jpg, German prisoners on Juno Beach File:Sergeant H.A. Marshall of the Sniper Section, The Calgary Highlanders.jpg, Harold Marshall of the

Sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

Section, the

Calgary Highlanders The Calgary Highlanders (10th Canadians) is a Canadian Army Primary Reserve infantry regiment, headquartered at Mewata Armouries in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The regiment is a part-time reserve unit, under the command of 41 Canadian Brigade Grou ...

File:Panzerschreck a169257-v6.jpg, A Canadian soldier with a captured '' Panzerschrek'' File:Royal Winnipeg Rifles - Spring.jpg, The

Royal Winnipeg Rifles The Royal Winnipeg Rifles (R Wpg Rif) are a Primary Reserve one-battalion infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. Nicknamed the "Little Black Devils", they are based at Minto Armoury in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Royal Winnipeg Rifles are part of 3r ...

File:Scout of the Calgary Highlanders advancing north of Kappellen, October 1944.jpg, Highland snipers File:1st Canadian generals.jpg, First Canadian Army generals, Victory, May 1945

Film Unit

File:Canadian Army Newsreel, No. 01 (1942).webm, Canadian Army Newsreel, No. 01 (1942)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Bell, Ken. ''Not in Vain''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1973. . * Conlin, Dan. ''War Through the Lens: the Canadian Army Film and Photo Unit 1941-1945''. Niagara Falls, Ontario: Seraphim Editions, 2015. . * O'Regan, Brian. ''Camera Commandos and Reminiscences of D-Day Normandy''. E Book, 2007, * O'Regan, Brian. ''Shooters'', documentary film, written produced and directed by James O'Regan, 2005.

External links

Canadian Film and Photo Website

Retrieved May 6, 2010

Retrieved May 6, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Army Film and Photo Unit Military history of Canada during World War II Military units and formations of Canada in World War II