Yes, Canadian women knit socks for Canadian Expeditionary Forces in the Great War. Kids joined metal and rubber drives for the war effort in the Second World War. And thousands of others volunteered at home. But who were they? What motivated their contribution? How did those at home serve those on the front lines overseas?

Ted Barris has spent most of his professional life gathering the extraordinary stories of unsung Canadians who put their civilian lives aside to serve a cause greater than themselves. Through more than 20 published non-fiction histories, he has given voice and face to those who served in Canada’s armed force in the Great War, the Second World War, the Korean War and beyond.

On Sunday, June 1, 2025, he appears at the Wartime Home Front event in the Agricultural Centre at the Backus Page House Museum in John E Pearce Provincial Park. Ted will draw from many of his books to paint a picture of life at home – the good, the bad and the unexpected – during WWI and WWII.

Ted Barris has published 22 non-fiction books, half of them wartime histories. His book The Great Escape: A Canadian Story won the 2014 Libris Award as Best Non-Fiction Book in Canada. His book Dam Busters: Canadian Airmen and the Secret Raid Against Nazi Germany received the 2018 NORAD Trophy from the RCAF Association. And his book Rush to Danger: Medics in the Line of Fire was long-listed for the 2020 Charles Taylor Prize for Non-Fiction in Canada. And his book Battle of the Atlantic: Gauntlet to Victory was published in 2022. And in October 2024, Barris was appointed Member of the Order of Canada.