The Canadian campaign in Italy during the Second World War, policing by the Canadian Navy off the coast of Africa, and the War of 1812 are some of the featured subjects of discussion during the Windsor Military Studies Conference, February 8 and 9 at the Major F.A. Tilston VC Armoury.

The annual conference, now in its eighth year, is a collaboration between the Humanities Research Group, the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment, and Wilfrid Laurier University’s Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies. This year’s program also involves the HMCS Hunter, the Windsor Regiment and 21 Windsor Service Battalion.

The opening keynote address, 7 p.m. Friday, is by Lee Windsor, deputy director of the Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society at the University of New Brunswick. It is entitled “Undiscovered Victory: 1st Canadian Infantry Division in Central Sicily, July 1943.”

Saturday’s presentations include “In the Line of Fire: Civil Affairs in Sicily, July-August 1943” by Cindy Brown of Western University, “Illustrating the War of 1812” by Matt Symes of Laurier, and “The Black Presence in the War of 1812: Canada's Unsung Military Volunteers” by African Canadian heritage consultant Elise Harding-Davis.

The conference registration fee of $20, $10 for students, includes lunch Saturday. Find more information, including a full itinerary and pre-registration details, on the conference website.