Students

PhD in progress "Environtmental Impacts of Weapons Testing and Defence Systems in Canada, 1939-2007"

Ian began his university education at the University of Waterloo, graduating in 2006 with an honours bachelor degree in history with a minor in music. Following undergrad, Ian completed his MA, “Canadians Overseas: The Organizational, Administrative, and Logistics of Canadian Troops Convoys During the Second World War,” at the University of New Brunswick under the guidance of Dr. Marc Milner. While at UNB, Ian spent a week at sea onboard the HMCS Halifax, one of Canada’s frigates, off the coast of Norfolk, VA. Following that, he had the honour of participating on the Canadian Battlefield Foundation’s study tour of Northwestern Europe during the summer of 2008. Leaving naval history behind, Ian returned to the University of Waterloo, where he was awarded a SSHRC Canadian Graduate Scholarship, to study the development of environmental policy within the Canadian forces since the Second World War under Dr. P. Whitney Lackenbauer.

ihaight@uwaterloo.ca

Student Associate

Tavis Harris hold a BA and MA from the University of Waterloo focusing mostly on political relations and the intersect between class and recruiting during the Great War. Some of his other projects have focused on the use of oral testimony in the shaping of Dieppe narratives in C.P. Stacey’s official history and as a Balsillie Fellow. He is currently completing a doctoral thesis at WLU on the intellectual origins of Canada’s interwar Naval disarmament policy with a focus on the series of conferences during the 1920s and 30s under the guidance of Dr Roger Sarty. Besides his academic interests Tavis serves an Intelliegence Officer in the Canadian Navy.

PhD in Progress "'Shell Committee' that supervised Canadian munitions production in 1914-1915 to assess its effectiveness in light of the allegations of corruptions and inefficiency that led to its disbandment and Royal Commission"

PhD in Progress "All the good indians you can get: Ontario first peoples and the Great War"

Phd in progress "Junior Officer Leadership in the First World War"

PhD in Progress "Cold War expansion of the Royal Canadian Air Force under the government of Louis St. Laurent, 1949-57"

PhD In Progress "Development of the martial justice system in the Royal Canadian Navy, circa 1910-1955"

PhD in progress “A ‘Weapon of Starvation’: The Politics, Propaganda, and Morality of Britain’s Hunger Blockade of Germany, 1914-1919”

Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, Alyssa completed her MA at the University of Western Ontario in 2008. She is currently a PhD candidate at Wilfrid Laurier University under the supervision of naval historian Dr. Roger Sarty. Her dissertation funded by a SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship examines the role of moral considerations in the British decision to deny foodstuffs to Germany in war and after the Armistice. This thesis seeks to offer new insights on the Anglo-American and German war effort and peace negotiations in 1918-1919, as well as the morality of democratic states targeting civilians in war. Alyssa’s research interests broadly include: Military and Naval History, War and Society, 19th and 20th Century Europe, and Anglo-German Relations.

cund3768@wlu.ca

MA in Progress "Wings for Victory: The Public Relations of the RCAF during the Second World War"

Caitlin McWilliams completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Windsor, majoring in both History and English. She is now working towards a Masters degree in War and Society at Wilfrid Laurier University under the supervision of Dr. Roger Sarty. Her areas of interest include the Second World War, Canadian military aviation, and public relations during wartime. Her Major Research Paper will look at No. 6 Bombing Group RCAF, the impact of Canadianization, and the campaign to promote the air war. She is hoping to pursue a career in Public History and further research on the heritage of flight in Canada.

mcwi4620@wlu.ca

MA in progress "A history of the 19th Battalion, CEF"