Home > CMH > Vol. 35 (2026) > Iss. 1
Abstract
The Dr. Agatha Bonga Memorial Collection contains over one thousand questionnaires completed by Canadian Second World War veterans surrounding the liberation of the Netherlands and is currently held in The Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society at the University of New Brunswick. Focusing on the narratives of three veteran respondents, James Agnew, Donald Smith and R.O. Steeves, this article shows how veterans’ answers to the questionnaires creates a historical record of the attitudes, emotions and experiences of those who served in the Netherlands and survived the Second World War. When these narratives are examined with the eighteen other responses from the Carleton and York Regiment (CYR), the questionnaires reveal quantitative trends in lower-ranking combatants’ perceptions and experiences during and after service. This article demonstrates how the Bonga Collection questionnaires reconstruct personal narratives of lower-ranking participants of the war and provide new aggregate data on wartime experiences and peace-time transitions.
Recommended Citation
Smith, Mackenzie "The Bonga Collection and the Carleton and York Regiment Veterans of the Liberation of the Netherlands." Canadian Military History 35, 1 (2026)
