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This project is designed to both preserve experiences of Canadian military veterans for future generations; so as to provide ready access of primary sources for historians, and for students to learn from veterans.
a. To augment the existing collection of oral history interviews housed in the Special Collection Division of the University of Victoria Library.
b. To catalogue oral history interviews in such a way as to make them accessible to the public on line.
c. To provide opportunities for students at the University of Victoria to conduct their own oral history interviews. These interviews will be used by students as sources to be used in writing essays for courses offered in the Department of History.
d. To fund the teaching of a seminar course in the Department of History titled: “Canadian Veterans Oral History Project.” The course will teach up to 20 students each year on the basics of oral history techniques and on the outline of Canadian military history since 1939. Students will then conduct oral history interviews of veterans as the basis for their term papers.
e. The long term objective of the project is to use the University of Victoria program as a model similar programs based on the cooperation of local chapters of the RUSI and universities from coast to coast.
The funds to support this project will be disbursed by the University of Victoria, under the direction of Professor David Zimmerman, Department of History, Director, Canadian Veterans Oral History Project.
For a pictoral representation of the project roles and their relationships, refer to Project-at-a-Glance.
The semester course will be modeled upon the trials project successfully completed under the direction of Professor David Zimmerman (Military History) during this past winter term, in which five students from a senior undergraduate course selected essay topics, and then were matched with RUSI VI veterans who had been involved with the events of the topic.
Topics, and interviewees were:
A five hour (each hour separate) seminar was developed by Dr. Reginald Roy and Dr. John Eggenberger which enabled the students to conduct a responsible interview, and recorded on tape – and then used as a primary source for the essay.
The essays were very well done, and the interviewees and interviewers all reported enthusiasm for the project.
The accompanying article From Memory to Artifact: The Recorded Interview was used for the seminar. In the article will be found a general overview of the ways and means to collect oral history information.
Within the University of Victoria Library Special Collections resides a Canadian Military Oral History Collection that is composed of hundreds of taped and transcribed interviews of veterans of primarily the World Wars. Over 370 recordings done by Dr. Reginald Roy and his students are the largest holding in this category. Summaries of the interviews can be found if by searching the Canadian Military Oral history collection by Subject. Dr. Roy also contributed 63 tapes of lectures given to his classes on Canadian foreign affairs and Military Strategic Studies. The largest number of these interviews is the Major General George R. Pearkes Collection. The collection also contains materials donated by historian Hal Lawrence these comprise more than 180 recordings that he did of Canadian naval personnel.
It took thirty years to record approximately 400 reels of tape in these collections. Many of the interviews were made by Dr. Roy’s students working part-time on DND funds. Each interview has thus to be seen not as an assembly of facts. It is rather a product of collaboration between the interviewer and the interviewee. What is said on each tape must be heard, and is indeed listed in this guide, in the context of not just the interviewee but also of the interviewer and the project they represent.
The collection has subsequently been used consistently by historians and researchers from across Canada and in Europe. Some examples:
Military Collections: http://gateway.uvic.ca/spcoll/Mil/MILCOLL.html
Canadian Military Oral History Collections Guide: http://gateway.uvic.ca/spcoll/Mil/Oral.html
Oral histories database website: http://venus.library.uvic.ca/FMRes/FMPro?-DB=mil/oral%20hist%20subject-summary&-Lay=WebList&-Token=25&-Format=Ztablevw.htm&-Error=Zerr.htm&-Findall
RUSI VI formed a liaison group that had as its purpose to supply certain oversight to the project and to locate suitable veterans for interviews. Considerable thought and work was devoted to making sure that the relationship between the student and the veteran was positive. Meetings were set up, and administrative matters of a variety of sorts enabled the work to get done on time and in an efficient manner. It is intended that RUSI VI will continue to carry out this mandate during the life of this project.
An account with the UVIC Development and External Relations department has been authorized. In it will be deposited donations, and tax receipts for donations will be issued by the University of Victoria as appropriate. The name of the initiative is “The University of Victoria - Royal United Military Institute, Vancouver Island Veterans Oral History Project”. Dr. David Zimmerman, Professor of Military History, University of Victoria will manage the project, and will be authorized to disburse funds from the account in support of the project.
Initially, it is planned to commence the acquisition of oral history materials as soon as is practicable.
Sought are funds for the project are in the order of $20,000 annually. These funds will be dedicated such that $5,000 will be used to deliver the semester course, $10,000 for the collection and cataloging of oral history materials, and $5,000 to defray the costs of operating the oral history section of the special collections area, located in the McPherson Library of the University of Victoria.
Well qualified persons, skilled in conducting oral history interviews are available to begin work by September 1, 2004. It is expected that “on average” each interview will require 1 hour preparation, 3 hours of interview, with 1 hour required for writing up the synopsis of the interview for final cataloging and web-site uploading. It is proposed to pay the interviewer $40.00 per hour for this work, so initially each interview will cost $200. RUSI VI will be in a support role here, the Liaison Group will assure a good connection with potential interviewees from all military organizations on Vancouver Island – as well as link with veterans who do not belong to any of these organizations. These potential interviewees will be briefed upon the project, and then made known to the person doing the interview.
Commencing in the winter semester (January 2005) will be the course that is intended to teach to the theories and methodologies as well as practical issues related to the collection of oral history. The cost for the lecturer will be in the order of $5,000 for one semester. It is expected that the course will load to approximately 15 students per semester.
Dr. Eric Sager, Chair, Department of History University of Victoria.
Dr. David Zimmerman, Professor, Military History University of Victoria.
Dr. John Eggenberger, Vice President, Royal United Military Institute, Vancouver Island.
Mr. C. Petter, Curator, Special Collections, University of Victoria.
Ms. M. Murray, Development and External Relations Officer, University of Victoria.
Dr. Reginald Roy, Professor Emeritus, University of Victoria.
