Personnel in a vastly expanded navy participated in recreational activities on shore, including sports like boxing.

Naval authorities encouraged organized sports, seeking to promote fitness and keep sailors out of trouble. Gerald Trottier, a sailor and aspiring artist from Ottawa, was posted to the east coast during the Second World War. He painted a number of watercolours of his wartime experiences in the Royal Canadian Navy, including this boxing scene.

Boxing Instruction
Painted by Gerald Trottier in 1943
CWM 20060081-003