Jonathan F Vance. A Township at War. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2018. xi + 295 pp. $34.99 (cloth), ISBN 978-1-77112-386-0.
Reviewed by Richard Wasserman (Drew University)
Published on H-War (April, 2023)
Commissioned by Margaret Sankey (Air University)
In a history book such as this, I was impressed by the author’s note to readers in light of today’s cultural sensitivities, which reads:
This is a roundabout way of saying that anyone who writes about the past must always be sensitive to the voices they are reading. We must put aside what we think historical actors should have thought or must have been interested in, and instead let them tell us what their concerns actually were. I would certainly like to think that my ancestors in East Flamborough were wise enough and worldly enough to ponder things like franchise, minority language rights, or social democracy, but I can find no evidence that they did.... A historian must bring the qualities to the task. One of the most critical is humility. The voices of the past will tell us what’s important to them; our job is to avoid assuming that we know better than they do. (p. x)
This shows that the author understands the complexities of today’s social proclivities.
The author shows his ability to research in extremely great detail the history of rural East Flamborough leading up to and after Canada’s involvement in World War I. It is the history of his family and neighbors in a time now long gone, prior to industrialization, when everyone knew everyone else and which might be hard to visualize today.
Canada was involved in WWI right from the start from August of 1914 when Britain declared war on Germany and changed the country forever. This mobilization is well documented to include the experience of the common soldier from indoctrination into military life and preparation for combat to the return to normal civilian life in anticipation of a short war. The first two contingents of civilian volunteers into military service had to meet extremely high standards that devolved over time as the country turned to conscription as losses mounted and the need for replacements increased. I liked how the author intersperses the activities on the home front with those of combat on the western front by use of letters written by soldiers at the front along with many photographs of the townsfolk and soldiers in uniform. The book breaks down the war by years and brings the war up close and personal as soldiers relate their experiences in combat, recovering from wounds, and on leave.
The book finishes up with the men returning from war and trying to regain the lives they had before their call to service. I am a retired army officer and I can understand the difficulties in returning from a wartime experience. It wasn’t easy then and that has not changed.
Jonathan F. Vance has done yeoman’s work in researching his primary sources, which are included in his notes along with a substantial index. Like a lot of great adventures, the book starts off a bit slow, but then takes the reader on an adventure that few folks even realized happened. World War I changed the world view of many nations and the effects can still be felt today.
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Citation:
Richard Wasserman. Review of Vance, Jonathan F, A Township at War.
H-War, H-Net Reviews.
April, 2023.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=56800
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