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John Cannon is Co-Founder and Tour Director for Liberation Tours. John's interest in remembrance tourism is traced back through his Dutch heritage - his family grew up in occupied Holland and experienced the harsh realities of WWII. Although he inherits by birthright the proud Canadian tradition of service to country, he is more truly a Dutch descendant who is thankful to the Canadians for his family's freedom. A long time entrepreneur, John has founded several successful businesses during his career beginning with in the 1990s with a professional sports statistics service. When the internet came online to the general public he launched a web design and development company, which also provided IT tech support. His focus is on the overall travel experience and he particularly enjoys involving youth guests in the tour. He thrives when speaking to the group from the front of the coach, keeping things organized and light-hearted. He has come to appreciate some amazing places during his travels (the rolling hills of Devon, England, for example) but he finds himself most at home in his native Holland, where each spring the Canadian veterans, known to the Dutch as The Liberators, are treated like the heroes they are. John volunteered for five years with the cadet youth program in Aurora, Ontario in both administration and public affairs roles. He is Past President of several community organizations, and served on the Juno Beach Centre's Education Advisory Council. John lives in Ontario's cottage country, on the shores of Georgian Bay. |
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Phil Craig is Co-Founder, Lead Historian and Master Story-Teller for Liberation Tours. He's also a professional actor with numerous credits in film, television and stage including seasons with the prestigious Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada. In 2014 Phil embarked on a world tour in the highly successful stage production The Last Confession starring David Suchet (who many will know as BBC’s Inspector Hercule Poirot). Film-goers will recognize Phil as Rachel McAdams’ father in the hit movie The Time Traveler’s Wife or recall seeing him with Russel Crowe in Cinderella Man, or alongside Ralph Fiennes in David Cronenburg’s Spider. More recently he appears in the award winning Hardy Boys series and guest starred in the NBC mini-series Five Days at Memorial. He can also be seen in The Handmaid’s Tale, The Exorcist and in the acclaimed Netflix horror series Hemlock Grove. He has contributed several memorable characters for the CBC hit series Murdoch Mysteries and continues to lend his voice to numerous radio ad spots. Much to his chagrin, he is often remembered as the guy in the Lotto 6/49 commercial that gives away cottages to his family – and that commercial was a long time ago! Phil has been guiding battlefield tours for over ten years where his combination of story-telling skills, knowledge and passion for history takes you inside the battle in a way that few historians can. He has been studying military history since his teenage years and has made numerous trips to the battlefields of Europe to investigate, research and remember. Some of the most poignant spots we visit have come as the result of Phil ‘tripping over them’ during his battlefield discovery tours. Phil is co-founder of the Georgina Military Museum in Keswick, Ontario and has won many awards for his military historical work including the prestigious Ontario Heritage Trust Award. He recently became the proud recipient of the Minister of Veteran Affairs Commendation, awarded to individuals “who have contributed in an exemplary manner to the remembrance of the contributions, sacrifices and achievements of Veterans." Phil continues to make himself available as a guest speaker to ensure that the stories are never forgotten. He is the proud father of four university graduate children - two with Masters degrees and one pursuing her doctorate. In his youth, Phil was a member of The Hastings Prince Edward Regiment Cadet Corps in Port Hope, home of famed ‘Hasty P's’ veteran and writer Farley Mowat, and he recently completed a term as a member of the Queen's York Rangers Regimental Council based at Fort York in Toronto. Phil is a passionate traveler, whether it be the rolling hills of the Somme, the storied landscape of Britain or the more recent battlefields of Germany and Italy. They each have their poignant stories of service and sacrifice and Phil is honoured to be able to share them with you. |
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Mark Zuehlke, C.M., is best known as the award-winning author of the Canadian Battle Series, each volume of which focuses on a battle or campaign fought by the Canadian Army in World War II. There are currently thirteen books in the series along with a companion title, Through Blood and Sweat: A Remembrance Trek Across Sicily’s World War II Battlegrounds, which combines history and memoir to relate the poignant and grueling story of a group of Canadians - including Mark - who walked in the footsteps of 1st Canadian Infantry Division in commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily. The thirteenth title in the series is The River Battles: Canada’s Final Campaign in World War II Italy: a detailed account of the last five brutal months of fighting in the Emilia-Romagna region that concluded our army’s operations in Italy. He is currently at work on a new Canadian Battle Series title focused on Canada’s role in the war with Japan entitled The Maple Leaf Versus the Sun. The Canadian Battle Series is recognized as the most extensive account of any national army’s involvement in World War II written by a single author. In 2006, Holding Juno: Canada’s Heroic Defence of the D–Day Beaches won the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize. Mark is a Member of the Order of Canada, and a past recipient of the Governor General's History Award for Popular Media, The Pierre Berton Award. He lives in Victoria with partner and fellow writer Frances Backhouse. |
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Mark Proulx brings an extensive background from a historical and current military perspective. With more than 12 years experience delivering material related to WW1 and WW2 to a variety of audiences, Mark’s gift lies in his ability to engage the audience and make personal connections. As a living historian, Mark spent a significant amount of time researching and experiencing the life and times those who served. Participating in a variety of television and motion picture roles allowed Mark to contribute to a more lasting legacy and ensure the stories and history were presented in a factual and respectful manner. Mark is formerly a Second Lieutenant with the Queen’s York Rangers of the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve. His passion for both historical and current military knowledge allows for an enriching tour experience and maintains connections between those who served and those who are serving. The juxtaposition between the equipment, tactics and strategy then and now, serves to show that soldiers are not that dissimilar when fighting for country, friends and loved ones. Mark is both a father and husband and with family the priority, rarely has down time. Mark works as a project manager with a not-for-profit organization and enjoys playing, watching and coaching hockey. |
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John Hetherington is a retired history teacher living in North Bay, Ontario. He has a passion for military history and has spent most of his life reading about and studying various campaigns in the 20th/21st century. Before his teaching career began, John spent three summers in Israel working in The Golan Heights. It was here that he realized that that his interest in the wars of the Middle East could be further nurtured by immersing himself in the life of the people who lived and fought through these wars. For the next 25 years he spent his summers travelling the world and examining places that had undergone great upheaval and endured civil wars. In addition to the Middle East, North Africa, Southeast and South Asia, John began his first trips into Northwestern Europe to examine the battlefields of WW1 and 2. With the use of thousands of slides that he took on his many trips, John brought his experiences into the classroom to share with his students. Soon after he started teaching, he was developing and organizing custom tours for his students to the battlefields of Europe. In addition to this, he also created tours to Turkey, and the UK. John shared many of these experiences with speaking engagements with clubs and organizations within his community and regularly contributed articles about his experiences to the local newspaper. Student tours slowly developed into adult tours, and later, Regimental associations realized that he could custom design tours for them. Over the years John has led 20+ tours across Northwest Europe. When he is not travelling John researches military histories for people on his tours and anyone in his community. John is looking forward to sharing his knowledge and experiences with all of you! |
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Steve Clifford is a military and family history researcher who specializes in helping families document and share stories of their military ancestors with future generations. He can’t recall a time when he wasn’t interested in military history, however he vividly remembers his first visit to Ypres on a clear cold day in late October 1983, in particular its deep blue skies, autumnal colours and the seemingly endless rows of white headstones. An avid blogger, Steve has published over 300 articles since 2012, the vast majority remembering former veterans or helping others with their own research. He took part in several commemorative events during the centenary of the First World War, the most memorable being a return visit to Ypres where he was honoured to place flags and commemorative scrolls on the graves of dozens of soldiers on behalf of a local municipality. Over the past 40 years, Steve has combined his background in IT with his passion for travel, history and adventure. In the past he led small group walking tours in England and later worked for a Canadian Adventure Travel company. A keen walker, Steve has enjoyed rambles in many parts of the world, the highlight being a memorable 1,172-mile solo journey from Land’s End to John O’Groats in 2010. |
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Mat Johnson works professionally in the heritage sector through his company Marathon of History, which began as a museum model-building business in 2010. Since that time, Marathon of History has evolved to include: historical exhibit design and fabrication; spatial consultation for museums, contractors and architects; museum public outreach programming; heritage preservation services for individuals and businesses; and a unique line of historical toys and models available in museum gift shops across Ontario including the Canadian Tank Museum in Oshawa, and also the Juno Beach Centre in Normandy, France. Mat is also an exhibit planner and promoter for Titanic Concepts Inc. which has items on loan to museums around the world and is North America’s largest private collection of infamous shipwreck and Titanic-related artifacts. Though his work requires him to dig deep into many genres of history, Mat’s favourite topics include Canada in the First and Second World War, the American Civil War, and the Napoleonic era - including the War of 1812. Mat is the founder and editor of the 2024 Ontario Museum Association award-winning publication Marathon of History Magazine. This full-colour magazine encourages submissions from people of all knowledge levels on almost any historical topic in the Southwestern Ontario area. The magazine focuses on encouraging people to celebrate and explore the incredible history that can be found in their own back yards. Mat enjoys running, hiking, the Toronto Maple Leafs, cold beer and making pizza - not necessarily in that order. He lives in Durham, Ontario with his wife Lauren who owns a gardening services business. To learn more about Mat and see all that Marathon of History offers, visit COOLHISTORY.CA. |
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Brett Stringfellow has been passionate about history since an early age. His fascination with history, especially military history of World War II, has developed substantially over the years. The focus of his interest is the allied air forces in England, specifically 8th Air Force. He has variously been a member and/or volunteer with a number of museums, including Parham 390th Bomb Group in Suffolk, UK. Brett is an enthusiastic specialist of WWII aircraft and the airfields of England, and leads our 'Flyboys' Air War tours each summer. Having spent ten years in Italy, Brett has also developed a real passion and substantial knowledge of the Italian Campaign of 1943-45. He has studied in great detail the battlefields of Ortona, the Gothic Line, and the Liri Valley to name but a few, and has led guided small group tours for travelers wanting to connect with their family's history of military service. Brett finds most fascinating the 'human factor' of the war, and studies in detail individual people’s histories and personal accounts of the war - both the participants in the conflicts and the silent witnesses of the battles. Brett and his young family reside in eastern England. |
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