Memoirs and Reference Books | Battlefields.ca

CWGC Overprint Michelin: Atlas of Cemeteries and Memorials in Belgium and Northern France

SiteAdmin — Thu, 08 Feb 2018 17:02:10 +0000

Latest Edition; Michelin, the principal continental map publisher, has produced for the Commission a new compact road atlas covering the areas with the densest population of war cemeteries in northern France and Belgium, including Normandy. The atlas, with road maps in Michelin's 1:200,000 series overprinted to show the location of each Commonwealth cemetery and memorial, comes with an alphabetical index. Absolute necessity for any War buff.

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Faith Under Fire

SiteAdmin — Mon, 13 Mar 2017 19:32:52 +0000

Frederick G. Scott, Canada's Extraordinary Chaplain of the Great War, Vehicule Press, 2014; pb; 144 pg; NEW. Interesting biography of the man who was the heart and soul of the Canadian Corps. Originally a stowaway Chaplain to the 14th Battalion, C.E.F, Scott served from 1914 until severely wounded in September 1918 at Cambrai. His memoir, The Great War As I Saw It, is a classic. In my opinion, Scott was one of three legendary characters of the C.E.F. Any guess who are the other two? Love this guy! by Alan Hustak

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The 116th Battalion in France, 1914-18

SiteAdmin — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 02:05:26 +0000

The official Battalion history of the 116th Battalion on the Western Front, 1917-1918. Chronicles their actions post-Vimy, Passchendaele and the Hundred Days. One of the scarcer unit histories. Originally published in 1921. [paperback, 111 pages]

by The Adjutant

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Battery Action

SiteAdmin — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 21:31:18 +0000

There cannot be a book with a more tragic history than Battery Action! It was started by Hugh Kay at Christmas, 1916, to serve as a record of the 43rd Howitzer Battery, Canadian Field Artillery. Kay recorded the characters in the unit, and the entertainments of The Boys. Unfortunately Kay was killed at Passchendaele in 1917. His manuscript was found in his backpack, and the project was continued by George Magee. Magee died of wounds in September 1918. Once again others continued the work, and in 1920 the book was finally finished.

Yet the book is far from tragic. It is full of humourous anecdotes, details of daily life, and serves as a testament to the character and courage of the men of the 43rd Howitzer Battery. There is no indication the authors were working with the shadow of death hanging over them. Battery Action! gives an exceptional view into the lives of the artilleryman on the Western Front, and is a unique contribution to the literature of the period.

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Ypres: The Holy Ground of British Arms

SiteAdmin — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 03:19:09 +0000

Major Henry Beckles Willson was the last Town Major of Ypres (Ieper). He was in command of the legendary ruins in 1919, and was instrumental in the development of Ypres as the focal point of Remembrance and in the creation of The Ypres League.

Beckles Willson was also a fierce opponent of the rebuilding of Ypres, feeling that the horrific losses sustained there by the British Army meant it should always remain a Memorial. He was farsighted in his viewpoints and single-handedly reminded the Royalty and Dignitaries of Europe that the sacrifice should not be forgotten.

In his extremely rare 1920 book, Ypres, The Holy Ground of British Arms Major Willson presented his powerful argument against redevelopment, and presented his vision of the Sacred City of Ypres, by telling all the history of Ypres before and during the Great War. This is a unique perspective on the legendary City. Henry Beckles Willson was born in Montreal in 1869. He was an early Canadian literary type who found his fame, not in Canada, but in the Mother Country. By the end of his life he had written 25 books on a wide variety of subjects and genres, including History, Novels and Memoir.

During the Great War he served under Lord Beaverbrook for a time, then the War Office, finally, just after the Armistice, as the Town Major, overseeing the ruins of Ypres. During the Second World War he was interned in Unoccupied France and died there in 1942. Beckles Willson was one of those lost Victorians, a man of his times, whose generation was eclipsed by the tragedy of the Great War. But he left an important legacy. His vision is felt by all who return to the City to pay Homage to the Fallen of the Great War generation. It is a great pleasure to resurrect this exceptional rare book, Ypres, The Holy Ground of British Arms, written by this forgotten character, a man who played such an critical role in the Ypres we see today.

by H.Becckles Willson
112 Pages.

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