Canadian Military Heritage Museum of Brant County

The use of military communication equipment forms a cornerstone of military activities in both civilian and conflict environments.
Military communications involve all aspects of communication or conveyance of information by the armed forces. In the early years, drums, horns, flags, riders on horses and even pigeons were some of the early methods the military used to send messages over vast distances. In the middle of the 20th century, radio equipment came to dominate the field. Today many pieces of military communication equipment are built to encrypt and decode transmissions and survive in hostile climates.

Military communication or “comms” includes activities, equipment, techniques and tactics used by the military in battlefields, on land, under water and air and include command, control, communications and intelligence.  Various frequencies are used to send signals to other radios and satellites. 

With the development of military comms that included the use of distinctive signals came the eventual formation of the Signal Corps, a corps specializing in tactics of military comms.  Today the Signal Corps has evolved into a distinctive occupation where the signaller is a highly technical job held by men and women today. 

The Canadian Military Heritage Museum of Brant County has an extensive communications exhibit showcasing many communication pieces including the use of pigeons to send messages during WWI to radio equipment from WWII and Korea.   The following are but a few images of the communication collection on public view at the museum.