Our Strength is Fellowship; Our Success is Participation.

November 4, ZOOM Meeting

Meeting opens @ 10:00, Starts @ 10:30
AUTHOR: ALEX FITZGERALD-BLACK
Alex Fitzgerald-Black is a published author and military historian. He has a Master of Arts in Military History from the University of New Brunswick and is a Master of Arts in Public History candidate at the University of Western Ontario. His research interests include air power in the Second World War, with a particular focus on the Mediterranean, and Canadian military history. Alex lives in Canada with his beautiful wife, Lindsay, and their adorable mini-poodle, Chase.
Soldiers’ morale on the frontline relies on many factors. Casualty rates, time spent in heavy combat, news from home, weather and terrain, food, and general health are all relevant. The role of air forces should also get our consideration. In the fifth installment of the LCMSDS Maple Leaf Route Webinar Series, Alex Fitzgerald-Black will tackle two questions. First, what did the Canadian soldier think about the air support he received in Normandy? Second, what were the consequences of this support for morale? Canadian war diaries and memoirs of the fighting on the ground – including George G. Blackburn’s classic The Guns of Normandy – contain myriad compliments and criticisms about what the Allied air force was doing during the Battle of Normandy. The compliments (peaks) and criticisms (valleys) present an undulating curve of Canadian soldiers’ morale in Normandy. Fitzgerald-Black’s presentation will examine this “rollercoaster” in a sweeping tour of Canadian army operations from Juno Beach to the Falaise Gap.
Past Speakers
Speakers of 2015

January
Guy Chartrand, President & CEO, CGMH.

February
Ken Lucyshyn, Walker Aggregates, Duntroon

March
Captain Brad Moore, Marine Simulation Developer

April
Diana Bishop, Author ,Television journalist and
reporter

May
Carol Lambie, CEO, Waypoint Centre for Mental Health

June
Martin Rydlo, Marketing,Business Mgmt, Town of Collingwood

July
Brett Dixon, RPF, Forestry Department, County of Simcoe

August
Charlie Tatham, Collingwood Regional Airport

September
Dave Chambers, All about Hockey October

Terry Reardon, Winston Churchill and Mackenzie King

November
Jeff Shearer, On the Bay Magazine

December
Alan Mallory, The Family That Conquered Everest

Past Speakers
Speakers of 2016

January
Jeff McInnis, Northwest Passage by Catamaran

February
Glad Bryce, RCAF Women’s Division, WW11

March
Jeff and Susan Potts, Hull 192, Collingwood Shipyard Disaster

April
Professor Basil Kalymon, Crisis in Ukraine

May
Brock Godfrey, Canadian Anti-fraud for seniors

June
Dean Collver, Director, Parks, Recreation and Culture, Town of Collingwood.

July
Gord Canning, CEO Blue Mountain Resorts, Retired

August
Andy Barrie, Radio Personality and Talk Show host.

September
Elizabeth Klinck, Visual Researcher

October
Dr. Tom Stiff, Canadian Space Agency, NASA

November
Dr. George Soleas, CEO, LCBO

December
John Carswell, Canada’s High Arctic

Speakers of 2017

January
Nicole Moore & Peter Jennings, Shark Attack

February
Dr.Bob Galway, Early Airfields of Toronto

March
Diana Bishop, Author,International news reporter

April
Dr. Tom Stiff, All about asteroids

May
Melissa Shaw, Collingwood at Confederation

June
Fred Dobbs, Nottawa Valley Conservation Authority

July
Marjorie Medley, Seniors Health

August
Ross Parr, Chief, Collingwood Fire Department

September
Mary Shannon, OPP Commander , Collingwood
Detachment

October
Capt. Peter Lang, Air Canada Ret’d, Safe Flight

November
Ted Barris, The ‘Canadian’ Great Escape

December
Tanh Campbell, Author, Orphan 32

Speakers of 2018

January
Cecily Ross, Author,‘Lost Diaries of Susanna Moodie’

February
Janet Peters, Author,‘The Reluctant Sailor’

March
Brent Preston, ‘The New Farm’

April
Dr. John Fernandes, Forensic pathologist

May
Chris Allum and Allister Field, Ontario Securities Commission

June
Tom Bell, Cycling the length of South America

July
Dr. Karl Schiefer, Georgian Bay Ecosystem

August
Mauro Ferrioli, Trent Campbell, Firefighters Toronto Pearson Emergency Services

September
Ted Barris, The Dam Busters, The Canadian Story

October
Robert Burcher, Environmentalist John Muir

November
Dr. Wilma DeGroot, Hercules crash and rescue High Arctic

December
Dr. Karin Euler, MedicalMissions to Tanzania

Speakers 2019

January: Nancy Ferrer, Town Planner Collingwood

February: Mary Kocher, Simcoe County Health Nurse, Use of Cannabis

March: Michael Treuman, Bruce Trail

April: Marci Janecek, Physiotherapist

May: Ted Barris, Juno Beach

June: David Bourque, Professional Musician

July: Dr.Richard Hawkins, Orthopedic Surgeon

August: Tim Burrows, Electric Vehicles

September: Kim Oxley, Paramedic Trainer

October: Norah Holder, CEO Collingwood Hospital

November: Roger Litwiller, History Royal Canadian Navy

December: Dr. Amy Barron, Agatha Christie, Archaeology

Speakers 2020

January: Erika Engel, Editor, Reporter, Collingwood Today

February: Erin Churchill, RN Nurse Practitioner, Men’sHealth

March: Dr Bob Galway, ‘Richard Sterling Finnie, Arctic Explorer and Film maker’.

November: Dr Bob Galway, COVID 19 Pandemic, Virtual Meeting

December: Dr. Amy Barrron, Adventures of a female Archaeologist

Speakers 2021

January: Terry Fallis, Author and Humourist

February: Terry Fitzgerald, All your Questions About Electric Cars Answered

March: John Boyko, Author, ‘Canada’s Shadow War in Vietnam’

April: Jim Henderson, Adventures of a Geophysicist

May: David T Chapman, Photographer and weather authority

June: Bob MacNair, President Probus, Canada

July 8: Chris Pilsworth, Illusionist

August 5: Shelby Worts, Covid Stranded in the ‘Eternal City”, Rome

September 2: Jennifer Megarry, Office of the Future

October 4: Dr. Bob Galway, Covid; Separating Myth from Fact

Upcoming Events

Meetings

Meetings are the first Thursday of every month, starting at 0945 am. They are held at The Royal Canadian Legion, 490 Ontario Street, Collingwood.

Contact Us

Probus Club of Collingwood
Membership: John Megarry, 705-445-1261
Email: collingwoodprobus@gmail.com