Friends of Canadian Museum of War

Our Mission

FCWM News

The Friends of the Canadian War Museum is a charitable
organization formed to support the Canadian War Museum
and its activities by

sponsoring Museum projects, such as raising funds
for restoring of some of the Museum's valuable war art;
conducting research on subjects related to Canadian
militaryhistory;
fund raising, and
providing volunteer services.

The day-to-day operations of the
Friends, between meetings of the
Board of Directors, are conducted
by the Executive Committee...

The FCWM came into being in 1985 in response to what many
Canadians felt was an embarrassing neglect by government
to depict Canada's military experience and tocommemorate
the wartime sacrifices of Canadians.
A Canadian War Museum

had been created in 1942 but was
under-funded and housed in unsatisfactory
premises in Ottawa, with the collections split
between a main exhibition building on Sussex
Street and a former street car repair depot in
a west end industrial area.
The Friends was thus organized by concerned
citizens to raise funds to assist the Museum and to focus the
government's attention on correcting the unsatisfactory situation.
The subsequent efforts of the FCWM and its activities over
the next two decades are documented in a Commemorative
Publication which was issued on the opening of the new
Canadian War Museum in May, 2005.

The Friends had finally achieved its original goal, and had been
instrumenta in the government's decision to finally preserve
Canada's military history in an appropriate manner. Through
FCWM's Passing the Torch Campaign over $15 million had
been raised from the public sector to ensure that the new
museum would be of the highest quality.
With this major goal achieved, the FCWM's role in supporting
the War Museum is not over: it will continue to raise funds
to help preserve and enhance the Museum's collections,
to organize special events, to provide volunteers to help in many
capacities in the Museum, and to encourage research into
Canadian military history.

Paul Franklin's inspiring story exemplifies the quiet courage and determination of Canadians under fire...

A Soldier's Story.

CBC interview with Paul Franklin

Afghanistan: A Glimpse of War:
This exhibition shows Canada's
involvement in the "war of terror".
and provides a venue for discussion
of contemporary military issues ...

CWM, Feb 09-Apr 27, 2007-2008, CMW

10 April 2008: CWM Wins National Award
Afghanistan: A Glimpse of War, a temporary exhibition at the CWM, was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award in the Exhibitions category by the Canadian Museums Association at their annual meeting in Victoria.

The exhibition depicts the contemporary history of the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan as seen through the lens and in written accounts of two war correspondents.

The exhibit to date has attracted over 180,000 visitors. The exhibit was curated by CWM historian Andrew Burtch

Restoration of the Fordson Food Van and the Ram tank.
As one of its projects for Carrying the Torch, the FCWM has raised funds for the restoration of two Second World War vehicles previously on display in the LeBreton Gallery of the CWM. $15,000 has been passed on to restore the Fordson Food Van and $30,000 for the Ram tank.