At The Secrets of Radar Museum we ask you to imagine keeping a secret for 50 years. Could you do it?
Thousands of Canadian men and women who served in radar during World War II did just that. They took their oath of secrecy to heart, keeping the truth from family and friends, many taking their service history to the grave before the Official Secrets Act expired in 1991. They were radar mechanics, operators, teachers, trainers, physicists, and researchers. Their actions, deeds, and experiences went unknown and unrecorded when many of the most important histories of WWII were being written.
The Secrets of Radar Museum preserves their history through physical exhibits, a substantial research archive, and oral histories recounted by the veterans themselves. Their legacy informs the radar history of the Cold War, which we also explore in displays and online. Radar is a ubiquitous part of our modern lives, so pervasive that most of the time we aren't even aware of it. We exist to remind you that regular men and women, just like you and me, affected not just the outcome of WWII, but the technological and scientific trajectory of the 20th century. We are the only museum of this kind in Canada.