Rum Ration

At Waterloo, Napoleon’s Old Guard crested the ridge and met a silent wall of British red. In this episode of The Rum Ration Podcast, Colin and Rejoy unpack the real story behind that iconic colour: not vanity or intimidation, but logistics. Red had long signalled English authority, but in 1645 the New Model Army made it policy—cheap wool, durable dye, and easy mass production, with facing colours to distinguish regiments. In smoke-choked, black-powder battles, bright coats helped commanders track lines, reduced friendly fire, and made desertion harder. They also bust the myth that red “hid blood” (it doesn’t). Over time, practicality became prestige: by the 18th century red meant British power, until rifled weapons and smokeless powder made visibility fatal and khaki took over. The red coat survives today as ceremony—less about tactics, more about memory. Expect practical history, dark humour, and a few imaginary sponsor breaks along the way.

Canada’s 1950s defence sprint looked like science fiction: Arctic radar lines, a research reactor at Chalk River, and the Mach-2 Avro Arrow. In this episode of The Rum Ration, hosts Rejoy Chatterjee and Colin Robinson talk with Dr. Joanne Archibald to ask what that “blueprint era” can teach today’s Canada about NORAD modernization, Arctic posture, and industrial capacity right now.Dr. Archibald traces how layered radar networks (Pinetree, Mid-Canada, and the DEW Line) forced binational integration and faster decision-making, while still protecting sovereignty through clear legal terms. She then unpacks Chalk River’s nuclear reactor promise and price, from the 1952 NRX accident to the 1958 NRU fire, highlighting the human cost of “build fast, learn later.” Finally, the Avro Arrow becomes a procurement case study: world-class tech without aligned strategy, buyers, and budgets.Eight takeaways land hard: be useful to allies, pick niches, pre-delegate authority, build dual-use value, integrate industry, and govern risk early.

On this special Valentine’s Day episode of Rum Ration, retired infantry officers Colin Robinson and Rejoy Chatterjee celebrate a different kind of “Valentine”: the Infantry Tank Mk. III. They start with the martial origins of February 14th, from Saint Valentine’s defiance on behalf of soldiers to wartime traditions that kept troops connected to home. Then the story shifts to steel and diesel as Dunkirk’s disaster forces Britain to lean on Canada, a country with no tank-building tradition, to produce a finished design at speed.At CPR’s Angus Shops in Montréal, 3,500 workers assemble 40,000 parts into the Canadian Valentine, swapping in a GM 6-71 diesel and a Browning machine gun while wrestling with early production growing pains and design changes like cast armour. The twist: most Canadian Valentines ship to the USSR via brutal Arctic convoys, where Soviet crews praise the tank, improvise solutions, and fight on. The episode closes with the Archer variant and the remarkable journey of Montréal-built Tank #838—lost in 1944, recovered decades later, and preserved today in Ottawa. Support the Podcast - If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends. And as always...Cheers to history! 🥂

In this special Winter Olympics episode, Rum Ration heads to St. Moritz 1948, when Canada needed to fix the national bruise of 1936. But the enemy wasn’t another team, it was the IOC’s amateur oath. With senior clubs unable to pass the paperwork test, RCAF medical officer Squadron Leader Dr. Sandy Watson pulls a military loophole: airmen are paid for service, not hockey. In 48 hours he assembles the Ottawa RCAF Flyers, scrounges equipment, and funds the tour through 34 exhibitions, despite early public humiliation. Upgrades like George Mara and Wally Haider add bite, and midnight call-up goalie Murray Dowey arrives on a three-hour warning order and posts five shutouts. In Switzerland, the Flyers adapt to new rules, altitude, and lopsided officiating, then go undefeated. A 0–0 tie with Czechoslovakia turns gold into goal-quotient math, so coach Frank Boucher locks it down, finishing 3–0 cleanly in slush. Gold, restored pride.

Episode 37, is the third of a three-part series where the Rum Ration Podcast works to correct the myth of French-Canadian reluctance in the world wars. Social scientist and Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Garon joins the hosts for this episode to explain how the record-keeping in the First World War itself made francophone service “invisible”: CEF attestation papers never captured first language, so researchers leaned on crude proxies like Quebec enlistments or the 22nd Battalion's service records, when in fact there were more than 43 additional units in artillery, cavalry, engineers, medical services, signals, and support roles. The French-Canadian effort was massive, but much of it was absorbed into reinforcement pools, home defence, or imperial garrisons — roles that were essential, yet far less visible than front-line infantry combat — and overshadowed by the powerful symbol that the R22eR (Vandoos) has become of French-Canadian military service. But when Richard re-checks individual files across Canada’s “archipelagos of francophonie,” the picture flips. He estimates roughly 76,000 francophones served in the CEF, including about 48,000 volunteers—equal to, or higher than, English-Canadian enlistment rates. The episode also revisits the Royal 22e’s impossible burden as the lone French-speaking front-line infantry battalion, paying for its reputation at Courcelette and Regina Trench, while still working inside an English command system. We close with a reminder that courage looked like the 14th Battalion's (RMR) Sergeant François Narcisse Jérôme: three Military Medals, earned during the war. It’s a reset of remembrance, and a toast to countrywide sacrifice today.📬 Have Questions or Suggestions? Send us a message at info@rumration.ca.Support the Podcast - If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends. And as always...Cheers to history! 🥂

Episode 36 continues our three-part series on French-Canadian participation in Canada’s world wars, with historian Julien Lehoux joining us to examine Hong Kong as Québec’s forgotten battle. We revisit how “C Force” was assembled as a symbol of a united, bilingual Canada, including the Royal Rifles of Canada: an officially English-language regiment drawn largely from Eastern Québec, with a significant Francophone contingent. From the first shells to the Christmas Day fighting at Stanley Village, Hong Kong was Canada’s first land battle of the Second World War against impossible odds, ending in surrender, captivity, and silence. We also discuss how POW censorship pushed Francophones to write home in English, and how veterans’ associations became their refuge decades after the war. Julien then explains how sparse Francophone press coverage, Dieppe’s emotional pull, and the Conscription Crisis redirected Remembrance, leaving Hong Kong’s volunteers outside Québec’s public memory.For additional resources, check out Julien's paper "« Souvenons-nous de Hong Kong » : la bataille de Hong Kong et son absence mémorielle au Québec de 1941 à aujourd’hui" here and don't forget the Je Me Souviens website for their interactive online exhibition about the Canadians at Hong Kong titled “Impossible Odds.”

Episode 32 kicks off a three-part Rum Ration series that shatters the myth that French-Canadians were unwilling to serve in Canada’s wars. Hosts Rejoy Chatterjee and Colin Robinson sit down with historians Richard Garon (First World War) and Julien Lehoux (Second World War/Hong Kong) to explain why the story is less about “reluctance” and more about barriers.They unpack the pre-1914 climate: an English-only military culture, limited advancement for Francophones, and political flashpoints like Ontario’s Regulation XVII. Then they follow the call to arms, from the hard-won creation of the 22nd Battalion (“Van Doos”) to strong volunteerism again in 1939, even as “one-way bilingualism” persisted. The episode also confronts the bitter legacy: conscription, riots, and how collective memory elevated Dieppe while Hong Kong’s Quebec volunteers faded from view. Next up: stay tuned for episodes that will focus on Richard’s new numbers for WWI participation, and Julien’s deep dive on Hong Kong: Québec's Forgotten Battle.

Rum Ration turns one! In Episode 33, former infantry officers Rejoy Chatterjee and Colin Robinson celebrate together a full year of rum, banter, and battlefield history, plus their ongoing hunt for a sponsor. Listen in as they revisit Canada’s early conflicts, from Queenston Heights to the 1775 march on Quebec, then fast-forward to Paardeberg’s “Bloody Sunday.” The First World War dominates a lot of their episodes: the grind of trenches and logistics, the Ross Rifle’s failures, and the shock of chlorine gas at Second Ypres, where Canadians and their beloved unit, The Royal Montreal Regiment (RMR), helped hold a collapsing line. Vimy Ridge returns as a turning point, alongside lessons from General Sir Arthur Currie at Vimy and in a separate episode about Hill 70. The recap also ranges across Hong Kong, Canadian volunteers for the Vietnam war, the Sten gun, the RMR’s fight for an armory (and survival!), Hannibal’s Cannae, and the Avro Arrow vs Bomarc missile debate, before landing on the show’s core theme: selflessness, remembrance, and camaraderie, plus a teaser of what’s ahead in 2026.Cheers to history!

In this special Christmas episode of The Rum Ration, Colin and Rejoy head to Ortona, December 1943, the “Italian Stalingrad,” where Canadians fought for every doorway. A minor port guarding Highway 16 became a fortress held “at all costs” by the German Fallschirmjäger “Green Devils,” as record rain and the Moro River’s mud turned approach routes into misery. Inside Ortona, the Loyal Edmonton Regiment and the Seaforth Highlanders improvised “mouse-holing,” blasting through adjoining walls to stay off kill-zone streets. The cost was savage: leaders exposed, buildings booby-trapped, civilians trapped in cellars, and over 1,300 Ortonesi killed. Yet on Christmas Day, the Seaforths staged a proper dinner in a ruined church, officers serving troops, while machine guns rattled outside, a moment that even impressed nearby Germans. Days later the enemy slipped away, leaving “Bloody December” and a legacy of resilience, ritual, and hard-earned truth about the famous Ortona Dinner photo, for Canada today.Shout out to Petula Clark for her musical inspiration! 

In this episode of The Rum Ration, Colin and Rejoy head to the Ardennes in December 1944 for Hitler’s last desperate Western gamble: Wacht am Rhein. With Allied supply lines stretched and American units recovering in a “quiet sector,” the assault on 16 December erupts under fog, snow, and frozen rifles. The green US 106th Division is mauled and surrounded, while stubborn holds at St. Vith and Elsenborn Ridge bleed away the Germans’ one resource they cannot replace: time (okay, and fuel - the Germans couldn't replace that either!).They also unpack the psychological chaos of Otto Skorzeny’s Operation Greif—Germans in U.S. uniforms, rumours of assassinations, and checkpoints quizzing GI's on trivia. The turning point comes at Bastogne: “Nuts!”, a Christmas airlift, and Patton’s dash north to break the siege.We close with why the attack on the Bulge failed—logistics, terrain, delays, Allied airpower—and the brutal cost that made it one of the U.S. Army’s deadliest battles. Episode suggested (and birthday-dedicated) by friend of the show, Simon McLean.

In this episode of the Rum Ration Podcast, we tackle one of the most decisive half-hours in North American (and global) history: the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, 13 September 1759.Colin and Rejoy are joined by Professor Hal Klepak, Professor Emeritus of History and Strategy at the Royal Military College of Canada, to unpack how a global struggle between empires—fought in Europe, India, on the oceans, and in the forests of North America—came to a head outside Quebec City.We explore the wider Seven Years’ War, why the conquest of New France was increasingly inevitable, and how a sickly young James Wolfe and battle-hardened Louis-Joseph de Montcalm approached command in utterly different ways. From the brutal, fumbling siege of Quebec to the daring night ascent at L’Anse-au-Foulon and the disciplined British volleys that shattered Montcalm’s line, we dig into tactics, luck, and consequences.Listen in as we trace how this brief clash reshaped Canada—and helped set the stage for the American Revolution.📬 Have Questions or Suggestions? Send us a message at info@rumration.ca.Support the Podcast - If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends. And as always...Cheers to history! 🥂

Every war leaves names etched in stone, but what about the ones who never came home at all? In this episode of Rum Ration, we trace the story of the Unknown Soldier, the man without a name who came to stand for hundreds of thousands lost in the mud and chaos of the First World War.We follow his journey from shattered French battlefields, to a midnight selection in a quiet chapel, to a gun carriage rolling through silent London streets toward Westminster Abbey. Along the way, we look at how other nations, including Canada in 2000, created their own tombs of the unknown. Then we shamelessly bring the story home to The Royal Montreal Regiment and the rediscovery of Captain Richard Steacie’s long misidentified headstone, a powerful reminder that behind every “unknown” are individuals, families, and stories. Join us as we raise a glass to them all and reflect on why remembrance never really ends.📬 Have Questions or Suggestions? Send us a message at info@rumration.ca.Support the Podcast - If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends. And as always...Cheers to history! 🥂

Remembrance Day is more than a moment of silence—it’s a story, and the poppy is its narrator. In this episode of The Rum Ration, Colin and Rejoy trace the red flower from the churned mud of the Western Front to today’s lapels. We begin with Lt.-Col. John McCrae at Ypres and the poem that launched a symbol, move to American educator Moina Michael who vowed to “keep the faith,” and meet Anna Guérin—the French organizer who scaled the idea into an international movement. Along the way, we unpack how post-war veterans’ groups competed to own remembrance before unifying around the poppy. Finally, we compare how Canada, Britain, and the United States run their campaigns today—different designs and calendars, same mission: honour the fallen, support the living. If you’ve ever pinned a poppy to your coat, this is the story behind that simple, powerful act—and why it still matters today.Support the Podcast - If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends. And as always...Cheers to history! 🥂

Episode 28 of The Rum Ration, “War Poetry – Once More Unto the Verse,” raises a glass to the verses that outlasted every battle. In this special Remembrance Day episode, Rejoy and Colin explore how poetry has captured the courage, chaos, and cost of war—from Homer’s Iliad and Shakespeare’s rousing Henry V to Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade and McCrae’s immortal In Flanders Fields. Joined by celebrated poet George Elliott Clarke, former Parliamentary Poet Laureate of Canada, they trace how language became both a weapon and a memorial—giving voice to soldiers’ pain and defiance across centuries. Clarke reads and reflects on these timeless works, offering insight into why war poetry still moves us today. Whether sung, shouted, or whispered from the trenches, these verses remind us that behind every uniform is a heartbeat—and sometimes, a pen.📬 Have Questions or Suggestions? Send us a message at info@rumration.ca.Support the Podcast - If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends. And as always...Cheers to history! 🥂

In this 27th episode of The Rum Ration, hosts Rejoy and Colin raise a glass to the century-old home of The Royal Montreal Regiment (RMR) — and the extraordinary fight it took to build it. Joined by Assistant Curator of the RMR Museum, Amynte Eygun, they uncover how the RMR nearly vanished after the First World War, saved only by the determination of its veterans and the people of Westmount. Through civic votes, creative financing, and one indomitable general, Major-General Charles Basil Price, DSO, a memorial armoury rose from blueprints to copper-roofed reality in just 209 days. Dedicated in 1925 to the 1,192 RMR soldiers who never came home, the armoury became more than a building — it was a living memorial, community hub, and symbol of resilience. A century later, its walls still echo with service, sacrifice, and the timeless reminder that some battles are fought not abroad, but at home.📬 Have Questions or Suggestions? Send us a message at info@rumration.ca.Support the Podcast - If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends. And as always...Cheers to history! 🥂

On the eve of the First World War, British Columbia’s Premier pulled off one of the boldest—and strangest—arms deals in Canadian history. Two submarines vanished from Seattle under cover of darkness and reappeared flying the White Ensign. Rear-Admiral Christopher Robinson, Canada's senior submariner, joins The Rum Ration to reveal how those leaky little boats quietly launched Canada’s submarine service—and a century of undersea ingenuity.📬 Have Questions or Suggestions? Send us a message at info@rumration.ca.Support the Podcast - If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends. And as always...Cheers to history! 🥂

To mark The Rum Ration’s 25th episode, Colin and Rejoy swap trenches for theatre seats in “Popcorn and Powder Smoke: Our Favourite War Movies.” They explore how films—from A Bridge Too Far and All Quiet on the Western Front to Three Kings—shape how generations remember courage, chaos, and sacrifice. Colin’s picks focus on the cost of bravery and the absurdity of war, while Rejoy’s choices—Journey’s End, All Quiet on the Western Front, and The Charge of the Light Brigade—highlight quiet endurance amid despair. Between “fantasy sponsor” breaks from Trench Brew Ale and Foxhole Flicks, they remind listeners that war movies aren’t just about explosions—they’re about humanity under fire. It’s a cinematic toast to storytelling, memory, and the soldiers who inspired them all. Grab your rations and popcorn, and join The Rum Ration for a spirited salute to our favourite war films ever made.Available now at rumration.ca or wherever you get your podcasts (Apple, Amazon, Pocket Casts, Spotify, and YouTube).📬 Have Questions or Suggestions? Send us a message at info@rumration.ca.Support the Podcast - If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends. And as always...Cheers to history! 🥂

In this episode of ⁨the Rum Ration Podcast,⁩ Colin and Rejoy uncork the story of one of the Second World War’s most infamous weapons—the Sten submachine gun. Designed in desperation after Dunkirk, the Sten was Britain’s $10 answer to the $200 Thompson: ugly, unreliable, and dangerously simple. Yet for millions of Allied soldiers, including Canadians at Dieppe and beyond, it was the only tool they had for close combat. The hosts explore its creation, its rough production, and its deadly flaws—magazines that jammed, bolts that fired when dropped, and misfires that changed history. But despite its faults, the Sten armed resistance fighters across Europe and even earned imitation by the Germans. It’s a story of ingenuity born from necessity—and of the soldiers who fought courageously with a weapon they couldn’t always trust.📬 Have Questions or Suggestions? Send us a message at info@rumration.caSupport the Podcast - If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends. And as always...Cheers to history! 🥂

In this episode of The Rum Ration, Rejoy and Colin tackle one of Canada’s most complex military figures—General Sir Arthur Currie. Hailed as the finest general of the First World War, Currie rose from a humble Ontario schoolteacher to command the Canadian Corps, mastering the brutal learning curve of modern warfare. Yet behind his strategic brilliance lay controversy: a hidden financial scandal, bitter political enemies, and soldiers who branded him a “butcher.”From Vimy Ridge to the Last Hundred Days, Currie proved that meticulous planning could save lives—even if it cost him his reputation. The episode explores his triumphs, his moral courage to defy orders, and his postwar struggle for vindication at McGill and in court. Featuring Rum Ration’s signature wit, fictional sponsors, and reflection, this episode dives deep into the paradox of a man who won Canada’s war—and lost its affection.📬 Have Questions or Suggestions? Send us a message at info@rumration.ca.Support the Podcast - If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends. And as always...Cheers to history! 🥂

August 1917. The Western Front is bogged down in blood and mud. The French Army is reeling from mutiny, Passchendaele is already a quagmire, and German U-boats are choking Britain’s lifelines. Into this chaos steps a newly knighted Canadian commander, Sir Arthur Currie—already earning a reputation as one of the war’s finest tacticians—with the confidence to push back on his orders and suggest a smarter plan that would save lives.Instead of a costly frontal assault on the city of Lens, Currie proposed striking Hill 70, the high ground just north of it. The gamble worked. Over ten days of brutal fighting, including 21 German counter-attacks, the Canadian Corps held firm, inflicted massive losses, and cemented its reputation as an elite fighting force—earning six Victoria Crosses along the way.The Royal Montreal Regiment was there—through gas, shellfire, and relentless pressure—earning a place among Canada’s proudest battlefield moments. Private Raymond Duval of the RMR, who would go on to earn the Military Medal for his actions during the battle, recorded in his diary on August 15: “Things were popping plenty here and casualties were again being sustained all too frequently.” Duval’s wartime diary, published in 1954 and available online via the RMR Foundation, offers day-by-day insights into life at the front and is an invaluable window into the experience of the ordinary soldier. We encourage you to check it out at https://royalmontrealregiment.com/history/duval-diary/ In this episode, we bring this often-overshadowed triumph to life. 📬 Have Questions or Suggestions? Send us a message at info@rumration.ca.Support the Podcast - If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends. And as always...Cheers to history! 🥂