World War Documentaries Collection

In 1982, the National Film Board released The Kid Who Couldn’t Miss – a docudrama that challenged the reputation of Canadian First World War flying ace Billy Bishop.

The controversial production was condemned by veterans groups and military historians because of its inaccurate portrayal of Bishop’s war record. In The Billy Bishop Controversy, Cliff Chadderton sets out, in detail, the faulty research upon which the NFB film was based.

In October 1944, the 1st Canadian Army was assigned the mission to destroy German defences along the Scheldt River Estuary in Holland and Belgium, free the port of Antwerp and open up Allied supply lines. This was the last major military operation before the Rhineland. During two months of heavy fighting, the Canadians suffered 6,500 casualties.

The battle for the Scheldt Estuary is a story that needs to be told. There were a number of circumstances, some of them tragic and pointless which, given time, will indicate that this battle wasone of the Allied Command’s greatest military and strategic blunders.

Against All Odds is produced, written, and narrated by Cliff Chadderton. He fought in the battle of the Scheldt as a Captain commanding a company of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, and was wounded, suffering the loss of part of his right leg and other gunshot wounds.

Chadderton visited more than 20 locations on the north and south sides of the Scheldt Estuary where the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Canadian Divisions fought for a hellish two months. This step-by-step account of the strategic and tactical aspects of that struggle comes to life through the use of authentic battle footage.