Canadian History You Never Knew: Legion Branch No.9 (Hybrid In-person)

Description

This page is for in-person participation. If you wish to join the virtual program, please visit the hybrid virtual registration page. In British Columbia between 1942 and 1949, over 22,000 Canadians of Japanese heritage were forcibly displaced, dispossessed and dispersed.

What was not known until recent archival research is that an entire Legion Branch also disappeared. It had been established to help returned-soldiers from the First World War but also championed to restore their civil rights, notably the franchise. It took thirteen years to win the fight for the right to vote -- however, the victory only applied to the 80 surviving veterans. Three months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, then-President, Sgt Masumi Mitsui, MM, surrendered their charter in March 1942 "to prevent any embarrassment to the Legion through its continued membership." Despite their loyalty as naturalized British subjects with veteran status, fifty Legionnaires were incarcerated in squalid conditions, lost everything and several were even exiled to Japan.

Venue & access

Brighouse · 100-7700 Minoru Gate, Richmond, BC V6Y 1R8

Dayfari does not hold step-free access, parking or transit details for this venue yet. The honest answer is to check with the venue before you travel.

Finding it: open Brighouse in a map · 100-7700 Minoru Gate, Richmond, BC V6Y 1R8