''Wait for Me, Daddy'' is a photo taken by Claude P. Dettloff on October 1, 1940, of the British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles) marching down Eighth Street at the Columbia Street intersection,

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...

, British Columbia. While Dettloff was taking the photo, Warren "Whitey" Bernard broke away from his mother to his father, Private Jack Bernard. The picture received extensive exposure, with widespread circulation through magazines such as ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' and ''Time'', and was used in war-bond drives.

Background

On August 26, 1939,

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

was threatening

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and demanding Danzig. At 4:15 that morning the regimental adjutant in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada, received a call from

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

instructing him to call out the British Columbia Regiment. Soldiers fanned out in the city to guard vulnerable points. On September 10, 1939, Canada declared war against the

German Reich German ''Reich'' (, from ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty entirely from a continuing unitary German ''Volk'' ("na ...

, which had invaded Poland on the first of the month. While other units were sent to the United Kingdom, the British Columbia Regiment was left behind on the west coast. After months of drills and guard duty the regiment was ordered out and on October 1, 1940, marched to New Westminster to board a waiting ship, the SS ''Princess Joan'', to their secret destination.

Photograph

Coming down Eighth Street in New Westminster, Canadian photographer Claude P. Dettloff of ''

The Province ''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the ''Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they ...

'' newspaper positioned himself to photograph the whole column marching down the hill. As he was getting ready to take the picture, he saw a young boy run out onto the road; ''Wait for Me, Daddy'' captures the image of the boy, five-year-old Warren "Whitey" Bernard, running out of his mother's grasp to his father.

Aftermath

The secret destination turned out to be

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

, only three hours away. Later, after years of training, the regiment converted from infantry to armour and was sent to France and the Netherlands; it returned home at war's end. When Jack Bernard returned home, Dettloff was on hand to photograph the family's reunion. Jack and Bernice Bernard eventually divorced. The City of New Westminster commissioned a bronze statue honouring the photo to be placed at the bottom of 8th Street, in Hyack Square, to the artistic couple Veronica and Edwin Dam de Nogales. The city unveiled the statue on October 4, 2014. At the same event, the

Royal Canadian Mint The Royal Canadian Mint () is the mint of Canada and a Crown corporation, operating under an act of parliament referred to as the ''Royal Canadian Mint Act''. The shares of the mint are held in trust for the Crown in right of Canada. The mi ...

announced the issue of a series of three coins featuring a scene adapted from the image: it was released in denominations of $2 (alloy), $3 ( silver) and $10 ( silver). Canada Post also issued a stamp featuring the iconic image. A re-enactment of the soldiers' march was planned for March 2015, to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

Other stories

Detloff unwittingly captured a lesser known story in this photograph, though no less characteristic of wartime Canada. On the left-hand side of the photograph, the second woman behind "Whitey's" mother (wearing a dark long coat, necklace, and staring directly toward the camera) is Agnes Confortin (née Power) who had accompanied her friend Phyllis Daem that day to see the young men of New Westminster off. Even with the limited resolution of the photo, Agnes' somber expression reflects her concern for her two brothers, Wilfred and Larry Power, who had already enlisted in the

North Nova Scotia Highlanders The North Nova Scotia Highlanders was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army founded in 1936. In 1954, it was amalgamated with The Pictou Highlanders and 189 LAA RCA Battery to form 1st Battalion, The Nova Scotia Highlanders (North). Histo ...

. Larry returned to Canada in 1944 with severe

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...

. Wilfred was killed in action in March 1945 near

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

as part of

Canadian Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

preparation for the

Liberation of Arnhem Operation Anger (sometimes known as Operation Quick Anger) was a military operation to seize the city of Arnhem in April 1945, during the closing stages of the Second World War. It is also known as the Second Battle of Arnhem or the Liberation ...

in April 1945.

References

External links

Google Street View of photo's location

"Famous Pictures" summary

Sculpture unveiled
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wait for Me, Daddy Black-and-white photographs World War II photographs Military history of Canada during World War II History of New Westminster 1940 works 1940 in art 1940 in British Columbia 1940 in Canada 1940s photographs Photography in Canada British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) October 1940 in North America