The Curious Case of Wilfred Beckett Birt by Carla-Jean Stokes Martin Gilbert describes the Great War battles of 1915 as “the continuing failure of the Entente.” John Keegan examines that same year in a chapter entitled, “stalemate,” and Stuart Robson—mincing no words—calls 1915 “badly planned disasters.” The Battle of Loos, from September 25 to […]
Read more »Louisbourg: A Psychological Turning Point in the Seven Years’ War by Sam Derksen On 1 June 1758, a massive British flotilla consisting of over 150 ships and thirteen thousand soldiers waited in Gabarus Bay. Louisbourg loomed in the distance. Stirred up by gale force winds, waves crashed against the shore of Île Royale (Cape Breton), […]
Read more »“An Exemplary, Fine Gentleman” Defying the Odds: Arthur Roy Baxter, Veteran of World War I Part III: Injury and Life After the War by Michael Saad This is the conclusion in a series of posts exploring the life of Great War veteran, Arthur Roy Baxter. See also Part I and Part II. The Canadian […]
Read more »Music on Canada’s Home Front, 1914-1918 by Sara Karn “[T]he history of Canadian music can help to deepen our understanding of Canada itself.” – Governor General Vincent Massey, Music in Canada (1955)[1] For as long as I can remember, I have enjoyed playing and listening to music. However, I had never considered music as a […]
Read more »“An Exemplary, Fine Gentleman” Defying the Odds: Arthur Roy Baxter, Veteran of World War I Part II: Sanctuary Wood and Vimy Ridge By Michael Saad This is the second article in a series of posts exploring the life of Great War veteran, Arthur Roy Baxter. Click here for part I. Brought in as reinforcements to […]
Read more »“An Exemplary, Fine Gentleman” Defying the Odds: Arthur Roy Baxter, Veteran of World War I Part I: Enlistment and Early Struggles By Michael Saad Lying in the infirmary of New End Hospital in Hampstead, England on August 17th, 1917, Private Arthur Baxter of the Nova Scotia Rifles was faced with the harrowing reality—not uncommon […]
Read more »Confronting the Holocaust in Poland by Erica Parnis This spring Laurier undergraduate students enjoyed a unique opportunity. Ten of us travelled in Poland for two weeks as part of a full-credit History course called “Into That Darkness: Poland, World War Two, and the Holocaust.” We were joined by ten students from Nipissing University in North […]
Read more »Thoughts on Public History and Confederate Monuments by Kesia Kvill and Sandy Barron “The shaping of a past worthy of public commemoration in the present is contested and involves a struggle for supremacy between advocates of various political ideas and sentiments.” ~John Bodnar, Remaking America: Public Memory, Commemoration and Patriotism in the Twentieth Century. […]
Read more »War, Discrimination and Political Apologies by Kandace Bogaert Recently, the Canadian news media has called attention to Justin Trudeau’s plan to apologize to former members of the Canadian Armed Forces who were discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity between the 1950’s and 1990’s. However, Trudeau’s starting date of 1950 […]
Read more »Dyer’s Battalion: the Untold Story of the Russian Revolution (Part I) by Trevor Ford The mutineers came at night, silent and with determination. They had fixed their bayonets and had even brought forward a light machine gun. In silence they gathered near the officers’ quarters where their British officers were fast asleep. Suddenly a shout […]
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