A recent donation to the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives (PAMA) shows the Second World War through the eyes of Brampton solider. A member of the local Lorne Scots Regiment brought his camera to England with him, recording uniquely personal views of the conflict.

Samuel R. Charters took roughly 200 photographs of fellow soldiers at rest, troops practising and the devastation of the Blitz on London. The scenes were unseen for decades, tightly wound in 11 film canisters. His daughters recently donated the photo negatives to PAMA, which hired a professional photo conservator to carefully unwind and flatten the delicate material.

PAMA has turned 21 of the photos into a short video, available here on its YouTube channel.

Sam was just 19 years old when he enlisted with the Lorne Scots Regiment in 1940. Having recently graduated from high school, he had taken photographs for The Conservator, a newspaper owned by his family.

Among the faces featured in the video is Robert Charters, Sam's brother, who served as a bomber navigator for the Royal Air Force. Shot down over Axis-occupied France, he was protected by the French Resistance for a month before it was safe to return to an Allied base. He received the Distinguished Flying Medal and French Croix de Guerre.

Robert and Samuel's uncle, Rev. Henry Pierson Charters, also served in the war. Having already fought in the First World War, he enlisted with the Canadian Chaplain Service this time around. The boys' father, Clarence, actively encouraged his fellow newspaper publishers to promote war fundraising efforts.

At least 2,926 men and women from Peel County enlisted to serve in the Canadian Army, Navy, Air Force, or as a nurse. Of those, 178 were killed in action or died while in service, and hundreds more sustained lasting injuries. On the home front, countless others contributed through their work, clubs that sent luxuries like jam to the front lines, and fundraising efforts like war bonds.