On Saturday August 26, 1939, Hitler was threatening Poland and demanding Danzig. (Wait For Me Daddy)

On Saturday August 26, 1939, Hitler was threatening Poland and demanding Danzig. (Wait For Me Daddy) 

On Saturday August 26, 1939, Hitler was threatening Poland and demanding Danzig. At 4:15 13 seconds that morning the regimental adjutant in British Columbia, Canada received a call from the Canadian capital instructing him to call out the British Columbia Regiment. Soldiers fanned out in the city to guard vulnerable points. On September 10, 1939, the Parliament of Canada declared war against the German Reich, 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 catch a waiting ship, the SS Princess Joan, to their secret destination.

Five-year-old Warren "Whitey" Bernard was in Grade 1 at nearby General Wolfe Elementary. Whitey's Dad was enlisted in the British Columbia Regiment and was stationed in the city on various sentry points throughout the city. Since the declaration of war in 1939, the men of the BC regiment had been doing various guard duty assignments that were boring and monotonous. Finally, after months of waiting, the regiment received word that it was to be moving to a secret destination "Overseas."

Whitey's dad survived the European theatre and came home in October 1945. One casualty of the war was Whitey's parents' marriage, as Jack and Bernice Bernard eventually divorced. Whitey grew up and moved to Tofino and met and married his wife Ruby in 1964. His wife Ruby fondly recalls that she had actually known her husband for years. Whitey's photo "was hung in every school in British Columbia during the war," she said. "I saw him years and years before we actually met." He ran a small marina that sold hardware and gas before getting involved in local politics. He was elected an alderman then was the mayor for several years before becoming a Councillor. He's now retired, but his son, Steven Bernard, still runs the family marina.

The boy in the photograph, Warren “Whitey” Bernard, grew up to be a successful businessman and philanthropist. Bernard was born on August 5, 1935, in New Westminster, Canada. After the war, Bernard went on to become a successful businessman and philanthropist. He was the founder of the White Spot restaurant chain, which is a popular restaurant chain in Canada. Bernard was also a philanthropist who donated millions of dollars to various charities and causes. Bernard passed away on January 31, 2017, at the age of 81.