The War Amps

The War Amps

Founded	1918
Founder	Amputee War Veterans
Type	Nonprofit organization
Registration no.	131969628 RR0001
Focus	Support programs for amputees
Location	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Area served	Canada
Website	waramps.ca

The War Amps is a Canadian registered nonprofit organization, ^[1] established in 1918 with the purpose of assisting veteran amputees. Initially founded to serve war veterans with financial and advisory supports, the non-profit has since expanded their services to assist to all amputees in Canada. ^[2]

The association provides multiple programs that specifically target the needs of child, adult, and veteran amputees. The charity generates funding through the offering of their Key Tag and Address Label services, in which donations are made optional.

History

The organization began as The Amputation Club of British Columbia. However, it later became The War Amputations of Canada, eventually shortening to the War Amps. ^[3]

Services

• Key Tags: Beginning in 1946 war amputees were given work by producing key tags. In 1972, this program began to serve year-round employment for disabled staff. If a bunch of keys is found with a War Amps tag, dropping the keys in a Canadian mailbox will allow the keys to be returned to their registered owner. War Amps reports that the key service has returned more than 1.5 million lost keys. ^[4]
• Operation Legacy: A program designed to preserve and commemorate Canada’s military heritage by teaching youth about Canadian wartime history. ^[5]
• Documentaries: War Amps has produced a number of documentaries about Canada's military heritage. ^[6]

Notable contributors

• Adrian Anantawan, active member and spokesperson
• Mary Riter Hamilton painted for 'The Gold Stripe', a collection of work chronicling the Great War with all proceeds going to War Amps.
• Mark Arendz, Canadian Paralympian
• Talli Osborne, Canadian musician and public speaker

References

1. War Amps, Toronto Branch
2. "War Amps of Canada", Charity Intelligence Canada
3. The War Amps – Operation Legacy – Mary Riter Hamilton
4. "War Amps". Charity Intelligence. 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
5. History lesson available in War Amps heritage series – Letter to the Editor – The News
6. Learn about Canada’s history from The War Amps Military Heritage Series | Windsor Star

External links

• Official website