West Country Trilogy
I’d heard of the Battle of Jutland, but that’s it. No idea of who, when or where. Now I know, thanks to The Redeemed, third in Tim Pear’s West Country…
General Jack and Warrior
Warrior was called "the horse the Germans couldn't kill." He was a war horse. The 15.2 hand Thoroughbred gelding was General Jack Seely's charger. Gen. Seely was a British career…
World War I Reunion 1987
From the archives of my mother: the story of four men, and a bottle of Crown Royal, at a very special World War I reunion: Battery mates knock back last…
Halifax Explosion
Halifax Harbour, December 6 1917, two ships collide. An explosion, followed by a tsunami and a fire that burns much of the city. The next day, a major snowstorm. A…
Passchendaele
The Battle of Passchendaele ended 100 years ago today. It is also called the Third Battle of Ypres and the "Muddy-est, Bloody-est of the whole war." The latter is what…
Colombe Brothers
The Colombe brothers of Shallop Cove, Fred and Frank, died exactly two years apart. On October 9, 1915, Fred died of wounds received at Gallipoli. On October 9, 1917, Frank…
Wartime Foresters
"The King's Government call for lumber men and all skilled workmen not eligible for the Regiment or the Royal Naval Reserve for service in the forests of the United Kingdom."…
Newfoundland Regiment at Beaumont Hamel
Below is a list of the Newfoundland Regiment soldiers killed at Beaumont Hamel on July 1, 1916. There are many more; those killed in the lead-up to the battle, those…
Newfoundland’s Gallipoli
"Ptes Stanley and George Abbott of the Newfoundland Regiment were my grandmother's brothers. I remember that picture of them at her house. My Dad's sister has it now. They made it…
Beaumont Hamel
In Newfoundland and Labrador, July 1st is Memorial Day. It's been that longer than it's been Canada Day. Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949. But July 1st has had special significance…
World War I
It seemed like a good idea at the time. That’s the explanation I come up with for why World War I started. Virtually the entire world became embroiled in war…
The Uncles’ Great War
An uncle and two great-uncles are my touchstones for the First World War. The one I knew best was Charles Scanlon, husband of my mother's older sister Ada. He was 20…