Secret Japanese bomb attacks in Alberta and British Columbia, spies and secret projects and incredible survival stories of internment camps, For the Boys, Jasper’s Wartime Connections has it all.

The Jasper-Yellowhead Museum & Archives’ latest exhibit showcases the men and women whose lives were lost during the two World Wars and the Korean War, and the wartime stories of Jasper that will come as a surprise to even the town’s biggest history buffs.

Although small and remote, Jasper had a lot of connections during the war, Val Delill, exhibit coordinator, explains.

“There’s more than you would think, more than a lot of towns. Being in such a remote location it made a good place for secret projects, and we had a few secret projects.”

Several of these projects were masterminded by Geoffery Pyke, including Project Habbakuk – an almost shatter-proof ice-built aircraft carrier of which a model was built at Patricia Lake – and the secret project called the Weasels, an over-snow vehicle built and tested in Jasper and at the Columbia Icefields, meant for use in Norway.

It’s secret projects like this, and stories about the secret Lovat Scouts training, chosen to train in Jasper because of its remote location – with only one road coming from Edmonton, the only west-bound road going no more than 30 kilometres out of town – it was the perfect hiding place.

Even though the Lovat Scouts were only in town for about six months, Delill says they endeared themselves to the community. “There were a lot of people that feel their presence, still, I would say. We still get a lot of people coming in and going ‘oh, did you know this was a Lovat Scout such and such?’ - it was definitely a really recognized story in the valley.”

Because Delill has many artifacts and information on the Lovat Scouts, it is a significant part of the exhibit.

Also a big part of the exhibit is the story of Edith Cavell. The exhibit showcases her life and murder – the first woman killed in the war - and world-wide outcry that followed, leading to the naming of Mount Edith Cavell in Jasper, and dozens of hospitals, schools, roads and monuments around the world.

While the story of Edith Cavell is well known, one of the lesser-known wartime events in Jasper was the balloon bombs, sent over from Japan to Canada and America so they could feel the war in their own countries. With 21 bombs landing in Alberta, some near Jasper, and many more in BC, it’s a story that can only been explained by visiting the exhibit.

The exhibit nears the end with the story of two Jasper boys who died in two major projects – The Dambusters project of the Ruhr Valley and the infamous Great Escape.

Finally, the incredible war survival stories of longtime Jasperites Fred and Gertrude Kofin – (Fred, an Auschwitz survivor) are a reason alone to see the exhibit.

“He (Fred) was a survivor,” says Delill. “Unfortunately this doesn’t tell as much as I’d like to, but he just told me he was going to bring me the presentation he gives to the school kids, so I’ll probably add that to the presentation, because it’s pretty incredible stuff.”

For the Boys, Jasper’s Wartime Connections, runs at the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum & Archives from October 8 – November 15.