Canadians in The Great War

[Herekawe]

Hi

Can any Pals suggest a couple of good all round books about the Canadian forces in the Great War. Looking to expand my knowledge, know nothing more about the Canadians than what you get from the visitors centre at Vimy and Newfoundland Mem Park. I have one book on my shelf picked up 2nd hand years ago - Vimy.

Suggestions please

James

[Guest]

Hi James. Can't offer advice on a specific book, but you can find much online. Especially

HERE

and

HERE

Cheers Mike

[Broznitsky]

James, two books by Desmond Morton are a good starter, the first dealing with the soldier's experience, the second with the bigger picture.

When Your Number's Up: The Canadian Soldier in the First World War ISBN 0-394-22388-8, (1994)

Marching to Armageddon: Canadians and the Great War 1914-1919 ISBN 0-88619-211-0, (1989) (2nd Ed 1992) (With J. L. Granatstein)

[peterhogg]

I would recommend two recent books by Tim Cook which have received very positive reviews:

1. At The Sharp End

2. Storm Troops

Googling will give you the Isbn numbers

[KennethB]

The Tim Cook books are excellent, as is "Baptism of Fire" by Nathan Greenfield. Gives great insight to small unit actions during the gas attack at 2nd Ypres.

Ken

[KennethB]

Noticed the Royal Newfounderlander Regiment in the first post. Just found a good book called "The Fighting Newfoundlander" by G.W.L. Nicholson.

Ken

[Ken S.]

A short general overview:

The Road Past Vimy

Also of interest:

My Grandfather's War

[Drummy]

Just to clarify the Newfoundlander's were not Canadian's during the First World War

[Borden Battery]

"The Journal of Private Fraser" by CEF Books is an excellent personal observation of an articulate Canadian private, the previous mention of "When Your Numbers Up" and "Marching to Armageddon" would give you a good inital grounding. I would start with Armageddon as it provides a quick overview. When Your Numbers Up brings you through initial training and general experiences and thoughts of the Canadian volunteer. The Fraser book provides a clear and insightful commentary on life in the trenches for a Canadian private.

For an official review of the Canadian Expedtionary Force, try the Official History.

Official History of the Canadian Army in the First World War Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914-1919

Colonel G. W. L. Nicholson, C.D., Army Historical Section

This is the classic reference text [the Bible] for any student of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. The original textbook is very difficult to obtain, however, the document is now available in the Adobe .pdf format directly from the historical section of the Canadian Armed Forces website. This document can be “key-word” searched for specific military units, locations and dates.

http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/his/oh-ho/detail-eng.asp?BfBookLang=1&BfId=22

[Note: The pagination in the on-line document is different than the original document, therefore formal citations with page number references cannot be used. [Note – the CEF Study Group has re-transcribed this complete document as a true facsimile of the original document. Go to http://www.cefresearch.com/matrix/Nicholson/ and click on “Transcription” to access the correctly re-paginated document in either Word or Adobe pdf]

Regards

Borden Battery

[peterhogg]

Two other books I'd recommend:

1. Will Bird's "Ghosts Have Warm Hand". Albeit a personal account, well-written and highly readable.

2. Sandra Gwyn's "Tapestry of War", A well-researched account of various personages who joined and fought with the PPCLI, including Agar Adamson and Talbot Papineau.

[sassoon]

"No Place to Run" by Tim Cook discusses gas warfare and its use on Canadians during the War.