Time Capsule Honouring World War II Veterans

I created this project as a tribute to veterans, their lives, sacrifices, and service, especially those who were impacted by the conscription laws of World War II, forcing them to go to war. This time capsule was created to honour a fictional war veteran, John Franz Hillier, exploring his life before and after being conscripted. Throughout the time capsule, I’ve incorporated hidden meanings, historical facts, and significant events from that era into tiny details such as dates, names, phone numbers, and addresses, all of which are explained at the bottom of this page. Feel free to take a look at the time capsule below.

Fun Facts and More Hidden Details About My Artefacts

John Hillier’s last name is similar to the “Battle of Hill 70”, and specifically the “Hill” part

2. John Franz Hillier’s middle name is the same as Archduke Franz Ferdinand who was assassinated, which led to World War I starting.

3. In the letter that was sent to John Hillier about him having to join the War because, “Under this law, all able-bodied men between the ages of 20 and 45 are required to serve in the military to support the defence of our country.” I put “able-bodied men” here as the requirement as that was what the military wanted, and able-bodied men were the dominant culture back then and usually had their opinions favoured rather than women or unable-bodied men, which was extremely wrong and messed up. I tried to incorporate this detail into the letter to make it feel like the letter was really from that time in the early 20th century.

4. The date “July 10, 1940” on the CANADIAN ARMY APPLICATION artifact I made is the day the Battle of Britain began. I added this to make the artifact more meaningful and interesting while relating to the War and related topics.

5. The address of John Hillier is 1939 Truman Court. This one is kind of obvious but the street number is 1939, which is when World War II started, and the street name is Truman Court. Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945, after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This date was also the day World War II ended, and Harry S. Truman announced Japan’s surrender and the end of World War II. Essentially, this date highlights the start and end of World War II

6. John Hillier’s date of birth is August 25, 1917, and that is the exact same day as when the battle of Hill 70 had ended.

7. The Telephone number of John Hillier is 728 - 902 - 1945, the 728 represents 7/28 or July 28 which was when World War I started. The 902 represents 9/02 or September 2, 1945. 1945 represents the date when World War II ended, and when the last World War happened. This phone number shows a summary of World War dates like when it started and finished. This is because even after World War I, there still wasn’t complete peace, which is why the start of World War I directly connects to the end date of World War II.

8. James Hillier, John Hillier’s son was born on July 7, 1937, which is also the day the Second Sino-Japanese War started

9. Emily Hillier, John Hillier’s daughter was born on September 1, 1939, which is also the day World War II began.

10. The home address of John Hillier’s parents is the current location of the Art Gallery of Ontario, and in the Art Gallery of Ontario, there are several pieces of artwork related to the World Wars.

11. On the Airplane ticket boarding gate, it shows “DE81941”, which means December 8, 1941, which was the day when the battle of Hong Kong started. The person I chose to create my artifact about served and fought in the battle of Hong Kong in this made-up story, and having “DE81941” foreshadows his future of fighting in the battle of Hong Kong.

12. On the Airplane ticket boarding time, it shows the time is “12:25” P.M, this 12:25 means December 25, which was when the battle of Hong Kong ended, once again foreshadowing his fate in the Battle of Hong Kong.

13. On the notice letter, the date it was sent was September 13, 1940, which was the day the Battle of Quebec began, the bank that this letter was sent from is the Bank of Montreal (BMO) and Montreal is in Quebec

14. The customer service number on the letter is 623 - 902 - 1817, the 623 is the date when the BMO Bank was founded, the 902 date is when WW2 ended, signifying when soldiers came back to their families, and 1817 is the year the BMO Bank was founded.

15. I put Robert Borden as the manager of the bank as he created the conscription law in WW1, which was the root cause of all of these problems like the mortgages and bills not being paid in John Hillier’s family.

16. The 829 - 621 - 1940 phone number of Robert Borden also has a hidden meaning. The 829 is August 29, which was when the Conscription law was passed in World War I. The 621 is June 21, which was when the conscription law was once again passed in World War II. Lastly, the 1940 in the phone number symbolizes the year that the conscription law was once again passed in Canada during World War II. This phone number also symbolizes how the conscription law made it very difficult for some people to pay their bills, afford food, and afford other basic living necessities.

17. The date of October 31, 1940 on the warning letter symbolizes the end of the Battle of Britain. I included the start date of the Battle of Britain on the military application form, and this shows the end of the battle in a letter that was sent to the wife of the soldier who filled out his military application letter on July 10, 1940 (when the Battle of Britain started).

18. The prime minister of Canada during World War II was William Lyon Mackenzie King, and in the report card of John Hillier’s child, I made him the principal of the school as a hidden detail, the phone number is 1217 - 722 - 1950. The ‘1217’ is December 17, which was the date he was born. The ’722’ is July 22, which was the day he died. The ‘1950’ is the year he died.

19. John Hillier’s child, James Hillier’s OEN (Ontario Education Number) is ‘9011939 - 9021945’. The ‘9011939’ is September 1, 1939, which was when World War II began, and the ‘9021945’ is September 2, 1945, which was when World War II ended. This OEN symbolizes how James’ father, John Hillier was conscripted at the start of World War II, and was finally released at the end of World War II.

20. James' teacher is Ralph Carrette Day, who was the Mayor of Toronto in 1940 when this report card was made.

21. The signature on the Duct Tape patent was given by William Lyon Mackenzie King (the prime minister of Canada at the time)